Shock! Government is involved in a bait and switch. They give you education, but in reality it is indoctrination. They give us schools, but you must be a racist and sexual groomer to teach. They give us police protection, but allow male perverts in girl’s bathrooms. Now they tell us we need MORE money for mental health—and what are they really giving us?
“A last-minute change on the bond shocked disability rights advocates, who told CalMatters’ health reporter Kristen Hwang that language that prohibits the money from being used on involuntary confinements has been stripped away. They call it a bait-and-switch because they say that Newsom administration officials had emphasized the money would fund housing and unlocked treatment settings for people with severe mental health illnesses and substance use disorders.
- Samuel Jain, senior attorney with Disability Rights California: “We are horrified. The administration at the last possible moment… put in language that completely changes the intent of this bill.”
Gee, Gavin Newsom lied? Due to his lies thousands of Californians died. Due to his lies child suicide is up. Due to his lies businesses were destroyed. So, lying about a bond measure is small potatoes to him.
| Bait-and-switch on mental health bond? |
CalMatters, 9/15/23 https://calmatters.org/newsletters/whatmatters/2023/09/california-legislature-session/
With more than 170,000 unhoused people in California, voters in March will have the first chance in 20 years to shape how the state addresses its homelessness and mental health crises by deciding how the money gets spent.
But there was last-week controversy.
Gov. Newsom wants to reroute nearly one-third of money raised by a 1% tax on millionaires (roughly $1 billion annually) to housing programs, and he’s also asking voters to approve a $6.4 billion bond to add 10,000 psychiatric treatment units in the state.
A last-minute change on the bond shocked disability rights advocates, who told CalMatters’ health reporter Kristen Hwang that language that prohibits the money from being used on involuntary confinements has been stripped away. They call it a bait-and-switch because they say that Newsom administration officials had emphasized the money would fund housing and unlocked treatment settings for people with severe mental health illnesses and substance use disorders.
- Samuel Jain, senior attorney with Disability Rights California: “We are horrified. The administration at the last possible moment… put in language that completely changes the intent of this bill.”
But Newsom officials disagree, with one spokesperson saying the bond money will be “used for the full spectrum of behavioral health treatment sites.”
The measure, with the contentious changes, got through the Legislature Thursday night. Read more in Kristen’s story.
Rejiggering how counties spend money from the Mental Health Services Act is as complex as it is significant — while Newsom and supporters argue that overhauling the system is “long overdue,” critics fear diverting money for housing will leave other state mental health programs out in the dust.
To learn everything you need to know about the issue, Kristen has a thorough breakdown of Newsom’s new mental health plan, including where the money will go exactly, why that money is needed and what organizations may be losing out if voters approve Proposition 1 on March 5. Read Kristen’s explainer here.
