Monday, February 25, 2008

Candidate Dan Besse Lays Out the Problems with Mental Health/Developmental Disabilities/Substance Abuse Services Reform

"In recent years the state of North Carolina has taken a broad effort to promote deinstitutionalization. The state has also simultaneously been undertaking private and government control, to government contracting with local providers. This transition while well intended has been inadequately planned, funded and administered. The results are the current system breakdown." He went on to list the systemic problems, included are the absence of overall planning for care delivery, care delivery not uniform across the state, major gaps in geographic coverage for community services with rural communities being the most lacking.

"We have many sick and suffering individuals not recieivng care. We have an increase in homelessness. We have continuing and worsening problems."

"Most incompetent administration in American history they are still trying to undermine key services. Mediciad rule changes would further limit coverage of rehabilitiative services moving us precisiely in the wrong direction a hallmark of this administration.

"We need to fund services state wide. Stronger commitment to substance abuse services and chronic mental health illnesses. We need to fund community based system across the state before continuing or resuming the deinstiutitonaliziation." "We can not be sending people out of our hospitals if there is no where for them to go in our community."

No comments: