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Mental health cuts by state would shift costs to local jails, emergency rooms

A story in the Austin Statesman by Andrea Ball focuses on the effects of proposed budget cuts to mental health services on the criminal justice system, noting that "Austin Travis County Integral Care, which provided psychiatric services to about 16,800 people last year, is expecting to lose funding for about 2,500 people each year." Ball particularly predicts an impact on the jail and local emergency rooms, noting that:cuts to the system don't translate into cost savings, said Chris Ziebell , director of emergency medicine at University Medical Center Brackenridge . Studies show that people with untreated mental illness are more likely to end up in emergency rooms and jails, where treatment is far more expensive. "They're not going to save any money, and the people are going to end up suffering," Ziebell said...continue to full post

Full post as published by Grits for Breakfast on January 26, 2011 (boomark / email).