After Newtown: hope for plugs in mental health gaps
I guess we should be grateful. The Washington Post reports that, after Newton, support for spending on mental health has soared. Brady Dennis and Lena H. Sun write that mental health professionals are jumping up and down and clicking their heels in delight that finally, finally, the spotlight is shining on the need to end budgeting slashes and plug the gaps in the mental care network. "A year that could have brought another round of thinning resources and a spot far down the priority list of policymakers is shaping up quite differently in some statehouses," they note. Some states, like Minnesota -- long a free-thinking place with a conscience (I lived there briefly) -- is hoping to institute mental programs and resources in schools. "Wisconsin’s famously budget-conscious governor, Republican Scott Walker , this month proposed a nearly $30 million boost to mental-health spending in his budget, including funding for a program that allows counties to pr...