A Glimpse on the Services of a Social Service Agency, Proposition 63, and Its Effects on the Community - Term Paper Example

Running head: PROPOSITION 63 A Glimpse on the Services of a Social Service Agency, Proposition 63, and Its Effects on the Community Park Hyun Ji University of California INTRODUCTION In this paper, I will discuss the social welfare policy Proposition 63. It is also known as The Mental Health Services Act (MHSA). The Department of Mental Health (DMH) in Cerritos in the Los Angeles County will be the specific agency that I will use in my paper. It is a community based mental health service. It is known as the largest mental health system that is committed to making the community better by providing world class mental health services. Los Angeles is 4,000 square mile big. It has 88 cities and 130 communities. People living within this region are said to benefit from the services of DMH. Many kinds of people live in Los Angeles County. There are variations in language and culture. Caucasians, Filipinos, Latinos, African-Americans, and Asians are some that comprise the general population of this community. In relation to DMH, eight “Service Areas” are scattered among the different parts of Los Angeles. They are in Antelope Valley, San Fernando, San Gabriel, Metro, West, South, East, and South Bay/Harbor. The target population of DMH is identified as those who have severe depression and co-occurring mental disorders. The homeless and the underprivileged also belong to th target population. Poverty, lack of money, or any physical disability should not hinder a person from experiencing the services of DMH. The said department accepts adults and older adults who are injured, with low income and no insurance. Services in children and the youth with cases the same as of the adults are also entertained. These can be children from the juvenile court and psychiatric facilities. Special children also belong to this crowd. DMH provides services such as mental health assessment, mental health medication, case management, therapy, and availability of support groups for in-patients and recovering patients of the cases mentioned earlier. SOCIAL WELFARE POLICY: PROPOSITION 63 A. Overview Proposition 63 or the Mental Health Service Act in East Los Angeles is specially designed for the improvement of mentally ill and mentally disordered people. It is also to identify early signs of the said illness that may be caused by a number of reasons depending on the patient’s classification: child, youth, adult, or seniors. Another objective is to have more recovering patients. An untreated, dead patient has been the case of more counties. Lessening the dead, the untreated, and the homeless by approval of this act would be a great help to the community. Added tax will be given to Californians. One percent tax will be for Proposition 63. Hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars will be acquired for the needs of the mentally ill. The money will be allotted for the improvement of the patients, the facilities, the people, and the communities. The government wants to avoid the worsening of mental illness conditions of Californians. Another way of lessening the problem is by prevention. And to know the prevention, awareness projects are done. B. Purpose For years, there had been an increasing number of mentally ill and disordered people. This illness dated way back the generation of our ancestors. In the past, these unnamed illnesses were probably caused by things that are the same as today. Abortions, stress – physical and emotional, depression, trauma and drug abuse are some of the reasons for having a mental problem. However, today, there are even more factors that participate in a person’s mental state. There are more reasons to be depressed. Gender discrimination and racial discrimination are still serious issues as they were back in the early centuries. There are far more reasons to be stressed because all people think about is work. As for the children, the case is quite extreme. It is either the parents would push their children too hard on their studies or they would not care at all. Crimes, abuse, and neglection of responsibilities are everywhere. Assessments on certain people and their situations are provided to detect early signs of mental illness. Some possible reasons were enumerated a while ago. Upon detection, due process and medication would be suggested. Another objective of this act is to help families, employers, friends, and relatives of these situated people understand the situation of the mentally ill person. They are taught how to cope with the circumstances happening to the person they care for. Their roles are explained in helping these people recover as quickly as possible. But it’s not just about how these associated people would cope. It is also for these diagnosed people, in-patients, and recovering patients to lessen the feeling of embarrassment and shame of acquiring such disorder. Yes, there are mental health departments that we can go to. Nevertheless, the need to increase the number of recovering patients is acknowledged. Not only are we talking about the number of these people getting better but also the lesser duration of time that these patients need to cure their illness. It is also about preventing the situation of these mentally ill people to worsen if not treated. One reason why there are less cured patients is maybe because these mental institutions lack the means to upgrade their facilities and acquire better ones. MHSA allows these institutions to forward a three-year plan regarding improvements, outreach programs, and projects meant to help the mentally ill. MHSA focuses their funds on six major groups: community program planning, community services and support, education and training, capital facilities and technology, prevention and early prevention, and innovation. The first two are focused on the immediate need of the people. With services and support, these people would know which one needs more focus and attention. After the knowledge comes the planning. Prevention would not be possible without any knowledge shared. There come in the third group. As for the fourth, treatment would be insufficient without the help of better facilities and advanced devices. With proper education, prevention would be possible. And lastly, aims to the betterment of everything and everyone as time passes would be the ultimate goal of this act. Proponents of MHSA say that its impact is left to be seen. It is too early to see what the act can do. It is too early to know if the act is a waste of lots of money. It is too early to know the effects of the act to the community if there would be any. Plus, the proponents emphasized some major points: “funding goes only to these proven, new programs; bureaucrats can't redirect the funding; an oversight panel of independent, unpaid members supervises expenditures; (and) to ensure accountability, they can cut off programs that aren't effective.”(Nino 2004), (Crowell 2004), (Ware 2004). On the contrary, opponents of MHSA say that it would be a waste of money. They say that the proponents are saying less than how much this act would really cost. They are worried that the funds would disappear in no time. They are worried about the money they want to spend on “flawed attempt to fix a serious problem.” (Allen 2004), (Haynes 2004), (Uhler 2004). They say that it is not the right plan to solve the problem. They are worried that the money would go into the pockets of uninterested and unworthy people. Politics is politics. It will always be dirty. In the meantime, changes and conclusions will not be known until after three years. This is the planning time given by DMH to these mental health counties. However, feedbacks from some counties are already available. Some people like it. Some people don’t. CERRITOS IN LOS ANGELES COUNTY A. Pros and cons Many people are up to the approval of proposition63. Police officers, nurses, doctors, and grade school teachers from California are some that are supporting the act. They say that it would help the children excel in school. So, children would have a better life. Police say that one of three people they deal with has a mental illness. Instead of being in jail, these people should be in institutions. They should get proper treatment and get better. There are good things and bad things about Proposition 63. One article from News Bank explains the hope and chances given to young juveniles. This is in West Covina. Instead of going to jail, these teenagers attend rehabilitation. They get better when given proper care and medication. And there had been good results. The thought of having a second chance is a very big factor. San Francisco has a different outlook of the matter. Mayor Gavin Newsom gave his statement about the funds that would be available because of Proposition 63. He said he didn’t know where the funds would go yet. But he suggested building homes for the homeless. This had been a ten-year plan of San Francisco according to the article. Mayor Newsom said that the mentally ill could be lessened by lessening the number of the homeless. He also mentioned that “40 percent of the hard core on the street (is) believed to suffer from mental illness.” (Atkins 2004). Based from the accounts, the main problem of this proposition is the right distribution of money. The opponents are worried about this same thing too. The same is the case in Hanford. They said that most part of the funds would be put into existing programs. The rest would be for the new ones. Part of the community is okay with Proposition 63. They are optimistic. They want to see the developments. They like to help people. They make it sound like the big money coming in is a wonderful thing. However, there are the ones who are not so optimistic about MHSA. These are the ones that belong to the rural counties of California. These are the ones who really cannot afford to travel long trips because of lack of money and time. B. The Medeiros Case A very good example of this is the case of Cheryl Medeiros. She is a divorced mother of three. Her two children are with her husband. Her youngest child was with the Lassen County’s Child Protective Services. She was sick at that time. She could not care for her baby. Her parents still care for her. “She was diagnosed with schizophrenia, bipolar illness, and severe postpartum depression.” (Romney 2007 1), (Gold 2007 1). One day, Medeiros overdosed with anti-depressant pills. But there was nothing that her parents can do to help her. They tried to bring her to the nearest mental health county service. To their disappointment, there was no residing doctors or psychiatrists to help her. They tried transferring to a farther place. Again, there were not enough appropriate services to help her. Her parents were told to bring Medeiros to a much farther county mental health service. But that’s going to be too much for her parents. Gas alone will not take them there. They are underprivileged. What more can they do? These people from the urban communities do not experience much of the good promises of Proposition 63. It sounded good at first but some communities do not experience its benefits. Medeiros went on saying, “(that the system) treated me lower than what I am. They're breaking my trust.” (Romney 2007 2), (Gold 2007 2). The Modoc County, it was where Medeiros went to on her last mental attack, has coordinated with the other counties near it. Proposition 63, as we have seen, has been encountering some problems since it was approved. Some counties think about how to spend the money. They think about how to help the people. Some counties don’t even have a resident psychiatrist to start with. I think that proper education and motivation should be done. Free education for interested volunteers should be implemented. Some counties are bigger and richer than the other, some farther. The best way to look for these help in the urban places is to promote it in those specific regions. Urban places have higher death and untreated patients rates. There is no county that can provide the right services for these mentally ill patients. Traveling long hours would exhaust not only the patient and the people caring for the patient, but also the means to get to the right care. It is not easy traveling from one place to another especially if the reason for travel is looking for the right care and medication for the sick THE POLICY, THE COMMUNITY, AND THE AGENCY A. The policy and the community There have been different impacts of the Mental Health Service Act to the numerous counties of Los Angeles. Some counties have better economic status. So, they can divert the budget to something else like building houses for the homeless. However, there are urban areas that need very strict attention. It is true that Proposition 63 gives hopes to many people. The thought of having someone to talk with in a person’s most depressing moments is a great help to these people. The question is: is there really someone to talk with? People of the same situation relate to each other’s condition. Another question would be: are the services available for the mentally ill? As stated earlier in this paper, there are a lot of people that this act could have helped only if there are appropriate manpower and facilities. The proposed budget for the Mental Health Service Act could have been the only light these patients look forward to. However, the duration of execution of plans is not in the immediate future. Mental health counties could have improved in the time the money was received. People could have been educated. There is more hope in working together. The good intention is obviously seen. The action taken is far from visible. B. The Policy and the Agency I have searched, browsed, and read the DMH website over and over again. I am trying to comprehend the direct relationship of the Proposition to the DMH. I have been looking for the site where I can find the improvements of services due to added budget because of MHSA. Unfortunately, I could not find it. Or maybe there is none. I think that t is so difficult for the DMH to correctly allocate the budget to the different needs of the county. Los Angeles County is a very big region. It is explained in my introduction. One has to monitor the needs of the people in the community to identify how much will go to this, what should be done to that, and so forth. The latest that I can come up with are the awareness projects that DMH do. They also held a conference on mental illness and awareness. Awareness equals knowledge. Knowledge on the topic means knowing how not to worsen or how to prevent the situation. In this case, the mental condition of people. C. The policy, the agency, the community In solving a problem, identification of all possible factors is a must. One has to know everything to be able to properly and wholly solve it. Just like a math equation. Only in this case, we have to be patient. We have to be observant. We have to be careful. In this case, we deal not just with plain numbers but with people. The services provided are fine. They’re not overwhelming. But maybe some focus on the farther areas of the region could be of great help. So far, the duration time of the services provided are left unclear. Improvements should be seen by now since the act was approved way back in 2004. Online service is one of the best ways to reach out to these people. Information regarding mental disorders, illnesses, and their symptoms are available for viewing. Once again, knowledge is power. If the problem is identified, probable solutions would come in after. The needs would be provided for. Care and support are given if the problems are identified. CONCLUSION It is true that there are a lot of unmet needs in the society. We have the physical needs, the emotional needs, the interpersonal needs, and the like. However, it is harder to have no one to care for a person. This applicable not only for the mentally disordered people but to mentally stable people like you and me. Having hope is one step to getting better. It is believing that one can and will carry on with life. It gives “life” to the hopeless people. Proposition 63 or Mental Health Service Act is like heaven on earth if planned and executed right. There a lot of people in need of such services that this act can provide. There are promises that are very pleasing to the ears. Building houses for homeless people, as they say, would be possible. Giving hopes to abused and traumatized children will make them see a better future. A second chance for the juvenile delinquents would be possible. It is not just jail or nothing for them. Mentally ill adults are given the chance to function in the society by getting better. They can get a job. They can have a family. For all these dreams to be possible, the “heart” is needed. Corrupt politicians will not do any help. Robbing from the mentally ill would make him no better than the criminals serving their time in jail. Focus on what is necessary. Focus n the needs. Focus on what hurts. Find the answers. Execute them. RECOMMENDATION The Mental health Service Act gets very big money from the one percent that it gets from the taxpayer. Millions of dollars is not a small thing. Maybe free services for the mentally ill would be a great help. It’s okay to spend for research. It’s okay to spend for the facilities. It’s okay to spend for the employees. Happy employees will give you happy clients. No fees for all services are impossible. I recommend that some services should be free. For one, consultation should be free. There should be a five to ten day observation time to a person that maybe mentally sick. Medicine should, in one way or another, be free of charge too. There should be very little amount that the counties get from the client. Why? These counties are getting more and more money as taxpayers increase in number. It would help not only the patient’s family but the patient too. Moral and emotional support from close friends and family would be a big help in a patient’s recovery. This is possible if these supporters are somehow free from worries. Money is a problem for everybody. Proposition 63 can make things easy and light by providing for the people. Words are easy to say. We need action. Specific allotment of funds will clear things out for the people. There will be fewer complications. There will be fewer debates. I know it is impossible but we need honest people to handle these things. Honest people and honest politicians are very rare these days. The money set to this act is not a joke. It can actually save lives. Building houses for the homeless will take the children away from the streets. It will give them a brighter future. And that’s how things should be. Hope is just an arm reach away. We can make it possible. Our children are the nation’s future. Let them have their future. Let them live beautiful lives. References Atkins, L. (2004, December 20). Newsom; Proposition 63; Homeless; Mayor; Mental Health, SF. Retrieved October 16, 2007 from the World Wide Web: California Secretary of State's Voter Information Guide. (2004) Mental Health: For & Against, Argument for. Retrieved October 12, 2007 from the World Wide Web: http://www.healthvote.org/index.php/for_against/C26/ Department of Mental Health Los Angeles County. (2006, Summer) The Mental Health Services Act in East Los Angeles. Retrieved October 12, 2007 from the World Wide Web: http://dmh.lacounty.info/stp/FactSheetSA7EastLA.cfm Department of Mental Health L.A. County Online. (2007). About Us. Retrieved October 12, 2007 from the World Wide Web: http://dmh.lacounty.gov/about_us.asp Gold, S., Romney, L. (2007, September 17). New funds to help the mentally ill are no salve in counties struggling to provide core services. Retrieved October 16, 2007 from the World Wide Web: http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-rural17sep17,0,143731.story?coll=la-home-local. Health Policy. (2006, May). Mental Health Services Act (Prop. 63) Implementation. October 12, 2007 from the World Wide Web: http://www.chcf.org/topics/view.cfm?itemID=110806 Institute of Governmental Studies University of California. (2004, December). Proposition63: Mental Health Services Funding. Retrieved October 12, 2007 from the World Wide Web: http://igs.berkeley.edu/library/htProp63MentalHealthServicesExpansion.htm#Topic3 Mayer, A. (2007, June 5) Mental Health: Check Up. Retrieved October 12, 2007 from the World Wide Web: http://www.healthvote.org/index.php/checkup/C26#1 San Gabriel Valley Tribune. (2004) Rural areas reap little from Prop 63. . Retrieved October 16, 2007 from the World Wide Web: http://infoweb.newsbank.com/iw-search/welInfoWeb?p_action=doc&p_docid=1074D6196BA13484&p_docnum=1&p_queryname=NaN&p_product=AWNB&p_theme=aggregated3&p_nbid=B53S4DYCMTEMjU1MDE2NC43MjQ0ODU6MTaxMDaxMiguMzluMC4w Wrong Diagnosis. (2007, October 9). Cause of Psychological Problems. Retrieved October 16, 2007 from the World Wide Web: http://www.wrongdiagnosis.com/symptoms/psychological_problems/causes.htm Read More