HARRISBURG, Pa. — Pennsylvania’s underfunded mental health care system is crumbling. Mental health care advocates from around the state joined forces to discuss the desperate need for an increase in state funding. They said the system has hit a breaking point.
“It’s very critical at this point. The pandemic has shined a bright light on all the cracks in our system,” said Kris Thompson, Associate Executive Director of the Lenape Falley Foundation in Bucks County.
State funding for mental health care flows through county agencies. Though there have not been any cuts in state-based funding to county mental health services since 2013, there has not been an increase in funding either.
Agencies are now dealing with severe workforce shortages and scarce staff means limited services. They have struggled to keep up with cost of living raises, inflation, and other issues that have contributed to a lack of mental health care providers.
Administrators have alerted lawmakers to funding woes, but year after year not much has been done.
In 2018, the legislature passed an assisted outpatient treatment (AOT) law, which allows county mental health agencies to use court-ordered treatment to make sure someone living with a mental illness attends counseling or takes their medication.
Mental health care advocates claim the Commonwealth’s AOT law is one of the best in the country, but county mental health agencies statewide could not implement the program without additional funding. As a result, they opted out and chose not to offer the service.
“When there are cost of living raises, when there are raises across the board for staffing, there’s been no increase in funding whatsoever to cover those costs,” said Sharon Harlacher, Administrator at the York-Adams Mental Health-Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities Program.
Meanwhile, county mental health agencies have not recovered from budget cuts in 2013, when state lawmakers slashed their budget by 10 percent under the Corbett Administration. The cuts diminished state-based funding for county-delivered behavioral and mental health services by $84 million.
“Subsequently, we’ve had to close programs because of losing that money. Basic programs that cover basic needs,” said Tina Clymer, Administrator at Carbon-Monroe-Pike Mental Health and Developmental Services. “In every corner of our state, we are seeing a tremendous spike in the demand for every service, from assistance programs in schools, crisis services, and housing to varying levels of mental health treatment.”
Mental health partners around the state said it is time to invest more in Pennsylvania’s mental health care system.
Even prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the system was suffering as the base funding has remained flat for more than a decade. Families are now struggling to find treatment programs with availability.
“What I’ve heard time and time again is the stress and a sense of overwhelmingness that families are experiencing trying to access services,” Thompson added. “To a certain degree, they’re shocked about how difficult it can be. They’re concerned about wait times and how quickly they can get their family members or themselves into treatment.”
Governor Tom Wolf’s budget proposal calls for a $36.6 million increase in county mental health base funds as well as an additional $40 million in one-time federal American Rescue Plan Act funds to support efforts to provide critical behavioral health services. State lawmakers have a June 30 deadline to reach a budget deal.
