Mental Health Cuts

* Re “Durand Plan Could Deliver Deepest Cuts to Probation,” June 1.

County Health Care Director Pierre Durand objects that central government administrative costs are increasing $1.3 million in next year’s budget at the same time his agency is asked to slash medical services to the county’s poor.

Rather than view him as insubordinate, I applaud his good business sense. No responsible business would reduce services to customers without cutting administrative overhead first--especially when the health of our county’s poorest residents is on the line.

I was surprised to learn that the cost of mental health services provided to the juvenile justice system comes from the small mental health budget, which amounts to a mere 1.6% of our $1-billion county budget.

Much is made of the promise supervisors made to use the Proposition 172 revenue for public safety. Members of the National Alliance for the Mentally Ill want to remind the supervisors of their promise last year to honestly preserve all realignment funds for the use for mental health, also a matter of public safety. Over the last decade the chief administrator’s office has understated the expected realignment receipts intended to serve the mentally ill, and then reallocated excess funds midyear to other programs.

Supervisor John Flynn recently stated that it would be immoral to slash the underfunded Behavioral Health Department any further. [Chief Administrative Officer Harry] Hufford and the supervisors have an opportunity to balance these inequities in the current negotiations. Equity demands that overhead be cut before direct services are cut and that the Human Services Agency share in the punitive damages brought about by the ill-conceived merger.

SUSAN VINSON

Ventura