FUND COMMUNITY BASED MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES AND HOUSING:

Every mental health study in the last 7 years found that the lack of housing and community-based services contributes to wasted lives and wasted dollars by forcing persons with serious mental illness into inappropriate and expensive settings, such as: the prison system (often due to minor crimes related to their illnesses), nursing homes, emergency rooms, state hospitals, and the streets.

Connecticut must spend money responsibly and fund recovery — not crisis — through the following proven, achievable solutions.

Supportive Housing Programs

Fund permanent, independent and affordable housing combined with on-site or visiting case management, support and employment services. Studies show that supportive housing saves Medicaid dollars, promotes education and employment, and increases property values while successfully supporting people in recovery.

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Jail Diversion and Alternatives to Incarceration for Non-Violent Offenders

Fund cost-effective mental health diversion programs, including day reporting, residential programs, community supports and monitoring, and specially-trained probation and parole officers. Alternative programs help to reverse the growing trend of recidivism.

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Screen and Divert Nursing Home Applicants

Explore community alternatives for nursing home applicants and monitor admissions to ensure that housing is fully protected for persons entering for short term placements to allow for timely discharge. In cases of long –term, medically necessary admissions, create standards requiring regularly updated and individualized treatment plans with the goal of community integration.

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Statewide Age-Appropriate Young Adult Services

The state must fund timely, individualized, age-appropriate mental health and support services for young adults experiencing their first episode of serious mental illness, or transitioning from the children’s system.

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RAISE THE MEDICAID INCOME LIMIT FOR “AGED, BLIND, AND DISABLED” PERSONS:

As our state expands access to health care coverage, older adults and people with serious psychiatric and physical disabilities continue to be left far behind. The Medicaid income limit for people who are “aged, blind, or disabled” should be set at the same standard as all other adults on Medicaid. It has remained at 60-70% of the poverty level since 1990. As a result, thousands of vulnerable people with very limited resources must incur enough medical bills in a six month period to “spend down” to qualify for Medicaid. Spend down is a complex, restrictive, and administratively burdensome program that interrupts the continuity of care and leads many to more acute and costly health care services.

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