Mental Health Cutbacks

With a temporary provision for mental health services set to expire, families look to the courts

Wednesday, December 29, 2010

Mental health services for students that have been provided since 1984 by the state and counties, AB 3632, are in danger of being terminated in 2011. Approximately 20,000 students receive services under AB 3632 for conditions ranging from ADHD to bipolar disorder.

In October, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger cut the $133 million budget for AB 3632 services in a line-item veto. A temporary order that restores funding for these services is set to expire on Jan. 14. The Legislative Analyst’s Office expressed “a number of concerns with the Governor’s approach” back in a June in a budget report, recommending against suspending AB 3632 for fear that such a change “would be temporary, confusing, and disruptive.”

This month, a class-action suit filed in October was heard by U.S. District Judge George Wu. Wu is considering issuing an injunction against the veto, but is waiting for the results of a separate case against Schwarzenegger’s cut to be heard in January, as reported by the LA Times.

The plaintiffs in the lawsuit, filed by Public Counsel, Disability Rights California, Mental Health Advocacy Services, and the firm Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher, argue that a statewide court order is needed before the temporary assistance expires on Jan. 14.