The MPS is working with the
Maryland Mental Health Coalition to urge legislators to adopt a comprehensive
revenue enhancement solution to Maryland’s budgetary crisis during the special session.Letters have been sent pointing out that
public mental health services remain badly under-funded; increasing numbers of
uninsured people with severe mental illnesses are being turned away from
services, and thousands of others who should be in treatment are instead in
jails, in prisons, or homeless. Maryland’s state and local spending per capita is well below
the national average, ranking 31st among the 50 states and the District of Columbia as a percentage of income. The coalition is asking
legislators to ensure that the needs of vulnerable citizens are met, and has
pledged to work to ensure that government funds spent on mental health services
are used in the most effective and efficient manner possible, to promote
recovery, positive outcomes and equal opportunity for all.
