Mental illness survey will help steer funding

More than half of the respondents say kids in dysfunctional families are in greatest need, survey shows

By Stephen Curran

To better deal with mental illness among local residents, social workers and other service providers need to get involved sooner, a recently completed county survey says.

Quick detection could better address mental health problems, particularly among hard-to-reach segments of the population—such as the homeless and victims of domestic violence — a study of more than 2,200 area residents determined.

The survey results are part of a county plan to divvy up $1.3 million in state Mental Health Services Act Prevention and Early Intervention funding. To get the money, all counties must first have their strategy approved by the state Department of Mental Health.

Those taking the survey included mental health service providers, families of people with mental illness, people with mental illness and residents who speak little or no English.

Among the survey results:

• Fifty-four percent of respondents believed undetected problems are the most important issue among those afflicted with mental illness and require early intervention.

• More than half of the survey takers, 1,420 respondents, believed children and youth in abusive or dysfunctional families who are at high risk for behavioral and emotional problems were in greatest need of help.

• Sixty-four percent believed that victims of domestic violence should receive the highest priority for services among hard-to-reach populations, above the homeless and military personnel returning home.

State guidelines require counties to create projects for all age groups and use at least 51 percent of the funds for individuals younger than 25. The projects must also serve at least one underserved population, such as children at risk of dropping out of school.

The county’s mental health professionals responded to 1,499 total calls for help between June 30, 2006, and June 30, 2007. That resulted in 899 people being hospitalized at the psychiatric facility on Johnson Avenue in San Luis Obispo.

The funds, which should reach the county in 2009, will help the local government offer services it might not otherwise be able to provide, said Karen Baylor, director of San Luis Obispo County Behavioral Health Services.

The next step, Baylor said, will be for various mental health committees to review the results and begin drafting a proposed plan.

Dale Magee, project planner for the county Mental Health Department, said officials expect to open the final results for 30-day public review sometime this summer.