Credit: Tom Sofield/LevittownNow.com
The Bucks County Commissioners are calling on lawmakers in Harrisburg to increase funding for mental health services.
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The three commissioners – two Democrats and one Republican – approved a resolution at their Wednesday meeting and signed a letter to lawmakers.
The letter asks the county’s delegation in Harrisburg to “support increased, sustainable funding for community-based mental health services to address the growing mental health crisis in Pennsylvania.”
The state and counties are key providers of mental health services in Pennsylvania.
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In 2012, the state cut $84 million from Mental Health Base Funds, which has been used to pay for parts of the mental health treatment system, county officials said.
Since 2008, the state has not made cost-of-living adjustments to the Mental Health Base Funds, county officials said.
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“Of course, since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020, the problem has gotten exponentially worse. We’ve seen a dramatic increase in suicide, substance abuse issues, and a surge for treatment for anxiety and depression,” the commissioners wrote.
“The current funding appropriation is not sufficient. In Bucks County, we are managing through this with a mere 30 percent of the financial power we had 14 years ago in 2008. This funding is how we pay for crisis services including, but not limited to, emergency room care for those without commercial insurance. An increase in funding for community-based mental health is imperative. It will be an investment in our mental health system, which will pay dividends for our commonwealth for generations to come,” they added.
“Certainly anybody who has spent any time in the mental health field knows this has been a problem in America for a very, very long time,” Commissioners Chairperson Bob Harvie said.
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The county has used Mental Health Base Funds for many programs, including providing hundreds of Bucks Countians with supportive housing and de-escalation training for more than 600 police officers in the county, officials said.
In a statement, the commissioners said increased funding could be put toward better helping people without health insurance in accessing mental health services and make sure staff and providers are paid better wages for their work. In addition, more funding could be used to create a “crisis response center to alleviate strain on emergency rooms.”
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The commissioners’ push to lawmakers to increase mental health funding is part of a statewide effort backed by the County Commissioners Association of Pennsylvania.
Overall, the county has been investing more in mental health programs. They are starting a mental health court, planning more options to divert those in crisis from the criminal justice system, and has started teaming social workers with police officers in Lower Bucks County.
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