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BernCo’s mental health programs praised

Albuquerque Journal (NM) - 6/27/2016

As a Colorado state lawmaker, Andrew Romanoff, says, he knew there would be political consequences if he angered certain special interests.

But the consideration of mental health legislation had no such danger.

“You can vote against mental health with impunity, and that’s a problem,” Romanoff told an audience of about 175 in Albuquerque this week.

Romanoff, a Democrat and former speaker of the Colorado House of Representatives, is now president and CEO of Mental Health Colorado, an organization that works to reduce the stigma surrounding mental health and substance-abuse disorders, and advocates for early intervention.

He spoke at the University of New Mexico’s Health Sciences Center on Thursday as Bernalillo County, the city of Albuquerque and others work to launch several behavioral health services — backed by a $20 million-a-year tax enacted by county commissioners.

Romanoff urged policymakers to consider services that help people find help before they end up in jail or consume other costly public safety resources. And, for community members, he urged them to tell their lawmakers that addressing mental health should be a priority.

“It’s critically important,” Romanoff said, adding that local officials in Albuquerque deserve credit for taking the political risk to tackle the problem.

One strategy for building support for services and funding, he said, is to explain that it makes financial sense to find people mental health treatment early — before their troubles land them in jail.

It’s far more expensive to provide someone services behind bars than out in the community, he said, and treatment programs can reduce the likelihood that someone will re-offend and drive up jail spending.

Another strategy, Romanoff said, is to point out that mental health and substance abuse disorders touch almost every family in some way.

“The data are on our side and the people are, too,” he said.

Bernalillo County commissioners narrowly agreed last year to boost the gross receipts tax to pay for new programs aimed at helping people who struggle with mental illness or addiction.

County Commissioner Maggie Hart Stebbins said Romanoff’s work “confirms that prevention and early intervention must be part of Bernalillo County’s behavioral health initiative.”

Romanoff, she said in an email, “provided compelling evidence that investment in universal screening, early diagnosis, and prompt access to services can dramatically improve the lives of children who suffer from mental health conditions — and prevent those conditions from becoming severe in adulthood.”

The county tax went into effect last summer, though city and county leaders are still working together to coordinate the most effective use of the money. Specifics haven’t been identified.

It’s expected to raise about $20 million a year. The actual amount depends on economic activity.

Hart Stebbins invited Romanoff to Albuquerque and used the discretionary fund for her district to pay for his travel.