We have also just endured a month in which each week we seem to hear news of yet another very public tragedy involving a person with a neurobiological brain disorder. But there are hopeful signs on the horizon. Last week Mental Health Champion Helen Thomson held hearings on the ground breaking Little Hoover Commissions report on Mental Health reform. Several dozen people testified. The hearing room was standing room only.
Legislation is bound to follow.
This week a Rand study will be released at a public briefing. This was the report on effectiveness of Involuntary Outpatient Commitment commissioned by Senator John Burton. The pendancy of the Rand study was the chief rationale for the death of AB 1800 last year in the Senate. Legislation is bound to follow from both Burton and Thomson on legal reforms this year. There are also hints that we will see legislative attempts to significantly address the state funding formulas for county mental health programs, as well as to add significant dollars to raise the paltry SSI maximums.