Mental Health Merger
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Re “Decision on Merger Was Reasoned and Rational,” commentary by Supervisor Kathy I. Long, Oct. 11.
Supervisor Long denied that the merger of the Public Social Services Agency and the Behavioral Health Department was done hastily. Yet unlike most issues the board votes on, there was no public hearing on this, no plan, no staff report and no organizational chart presented to the Board of Supervisors on the day the merger was voted upon.
Two supervisors who voted against it said they did not have enough information; this is because the report of Deloitte & Touche Consulting Group was not presented to the board.
Supervisor Long also said that Ventura County has been recognized around the state for its treatment of those with serious mental illness. In fact, until Las Posadas was built two years ago, Ventura County did not have any housing facilities for the mentally ill, unlike other counties. This year alone, several deaths have occurred. Clients are committing suicide, committing crimes and being shot by police because they are not getting the right medical treatment.
REBECKA M. BIEJO, Berkeley
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