Mental health advocates in Minnesota say their state is moving in the right direction, but there is more work to be done.
Public funding for mental health services in Minnesota steadily increased between fiscal year 2004 and 2012, from $642 million to $926 million, according to figures provided by the Minnesota Department of Human Services. That includes state, county and federal funding.
“Minnesota has done pretty well,” said Sue Abderholden, executive director of the National Alliance on Mental Illness in Minnesota. “Over a decade ago, I think most of us would have said, ‘We have a broken mental health system, if you can even call it a system.’ Today I wouldn’t say that.”
One initiative that Minnesota has taken up is expanding its mobile crisis teams, which use mental health professionals to respond to someone with a mental health crisis, rather than police or an ambulance.
“That’s proven to be really effective to keep people in their homes,” said Ed Eide, executive director of the Mental Health Association of Minnesota.
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Still, the crisis teams don’t reach every part of the state.
“There are pockets of underserved areas throughout the state,” Eide said.
Abderholden said addressing low reimbursement rates for mental health services under Medicaid is also a major priority.
Minnesota has increased funding for community-based services since 2004, but decreased funding for state-run inpatient services, DHS data shows. Community-based services include case management, crisis response and day treatment.
“From a policy standpoint, making sure we have community services available is just critical,” Abderholden said. “People spend the majority of their lives in the community, so let’s help them there; let’s support them there.”
