County Commissioners Support Mental Health

MACOMB COUNTY, MI. – The Macomb County Board of Commissioners overwhelmingly passed a resolution in support of Community Mental Health Services Programs at their May 18th Full Board meeting. The resolution states that the Board “supports maintaining public oversight of mental health services and does not support abandoning its constitutional obligation or relinquishing its moral charge to assist in supporting the dreams and aspirations of the most vulnerable persons.”

The timing of this resolution is due to budget conversations happening in Lansing about the restructuring and possible removal of public Community Mental Health boards overseeing behavioral health services provided to lower income residents. It urges Michigan legislators to appropriate a budget “which includes a policy that preserves the public oversight and public delivery of Community Mental Health services that currently exists.”

“Privatizing these services could cause a lot more people to fall through the cracks,” said Board Chair Bob Smith (D – Clinton Twp.) at the May 8th meeting where the resolution was first introduced. Commissioner Don Brown (R – Washington Twp.) added “There are many good points in here that support our position and help make sense of this complex topic.”

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This resolution will be sent to the Governor’s Office, State Legislators, and others to influence the upcoming decisions on public health policy.

Photo by a Health Blog via Flickr Commons