More COVID funding on the way
A statewide grand jury examining school safety issues in Florida has released its third interim report, this one focused on the state’s mental health system. The report said the system is “a mess” with “urgent problems” involving funding, inadequate services, and inter-agency conflicts. It recommends that the Florida Legislature establish a commission to study mental health services.
The grand jury was impaneled last year at the request of Governor DeSantis to look into the massacre at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, in which 17 students were killed and another 17 injured. The accused shooter, a former student, had a history of mental health issues and had received some treatment prior to the shooting.
The grand jury report identified funding as an underlying issue, noting Florida spends the least of any state in per-capita mental health care. “Even among states that do not collect income taxes, Florida is dead last,” the report said. “It is therefore important to highlight from the outset that correcting the deficiencies in our system of mental health care will require additional funding, but the Legislature must make this financial commitment intelligently so as to ensure that whatever funds it does provide are not wasted.”
Governor Ron DeSantis addresses mental health services funding on December 11, 2020. Courtesy, Governor’s Office
The very next day, this past Friday, Governor DeSantis announced $23 million would be spent out of the federal coronavirus CARES Act to bolster Florida’s mental health services system. Of that, $18 million would be spent on Community Based Services to help an additional 300 adults and 375 youth with severe mental illness needing crisis intervention. The Governor noted the pandemic has taken a toll on not only the physical, but also the mental health of residents and called the added money “absolutely critical” to the state’s COVID-19 response.
“The fallout from the pandemic is not simply limited to someone that may get admitted to a hospital for COVID. It extends far beyond that into every community in the state of Florida and we need to face it head on. It’s not an easy problem to deal with under any circumstances. But we think that this significant amount of resources is important, we think it’s justified, and we think it will make a difference,” said the Governor.
The Governor, with First Lady Casey DeSantis, also announced that the state is working with federal partners to set aside a portion of a previously announced $4.9 million federal grant to be used for peer-to-peer counseling services for Florida’s first responders through the state’s 2-1-1 support system.
LMA Newsletter of 12-14-20
