CSEA warns state lawmakers on Cuomo's flawed Mental Health proposal

OGDENSBURG, NY (09/17/2013)(readMedia)-- CSEA today warned state lawmakers that Gov. Andrew Cuomo's plan to run down state psychiatric services, including the closure of the only state psychiatric center north of the Thruway, the St. Lawrence Psychiatric Center in Odgensburg, will undermine essential services and hurt individuals and families in need.

"Too many people suffering from mental illness can't get the help they need now and the governor's plan will make a bad situation worse," said CSEA President Danny Donohue. "It is unacceptable that the governor would close the North Country's only psychiatric center and force families in need to travel to Syracuse or Utica for care."

CSEA submitted testimony to the state Senate and Assembly Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities committees, which began hearings on the plan last week. The governor has proposed a vague plan to consolidate long-term inpatient treatment for people with mental illness, disrupt children's care and place greater emphasis on community services, but the administration has offered little detail about meeting needs of people and communities.

The Cuomo administration's own Office of Mental Health stated in its most recent five-year plan that current "state psychiatric hospital capacity cannot be responsibly and rapidly reduced without managed investments in community care." Yet the administration is disregarding that warning.

There is also substantial evidence that the state underestimates the need for long-term care for seriously and persistently mentally ill people. Contrary to some advocates' claims, there are many individuals who can't just live in community settings with minimal assistance – they need longer-term care and supervision. By some estimates, more than half the inmates in county jails and correctional facilities have some form of mental illness. Many of these individuals wouldn't even be incarcerated if they could get the help and care they need in their community. Local taxpayers will continue to foot the bill and then some for the state's failure to ensure appropriate services in what amounts to an unfunded mandate.

New York has been reducing access to mental health services for the past 20 years by closing psychiatric centers, which provide the backbone of mental health services, including outpatient services, in many communities.

"The governor's plan is just another empty promise," the union testimony noted. "Without any real detail it is impossible to put any faith in the administration's claim that this proposal will make things better. We need a blueprint, not press releases and sound bites, for building a new, modern mental health care system that will ensure access for all of New York's citizens who need it.

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NOTE: CSEA Central Region President Colleen Wheaton will testify regarding local concerns about the governor's plan. CSEA has also begun a statewide radio and TV ad campaign challenging the Cuomo administration's bad mental health policy.