The mentally ill who are poor faces cuts in treatment because of a new statewide requirement to pay court fees.
As much as $500,000 a year is expected to be redirected in Snohomish and four other counties to pay court fees instead of paying for therapists.
“It comes out of direct services for mentally ill folks living in the community,” said Greg Long, deputy director of North Sound Mental Health Administration.
By his estimate, the money could have paid for five therapists to see 350 people or families.
“It’s going to mean there might be as many as 350 people or families that don’t get service, so it hurts,” Long said.
The new court-filing fee is required whenever a person is involuntarily committed, according to state auditors and Superior Court clerks, Long said.
State law requires paperwork be filed in court whenever a person is involuntary committed to a psychiatric unit such as Stevens Hospital in Edmonds or Fairfax in King County, Long said.
A person is involuntarily committed if they are dangerous to themselves or others or gravely disabled because of a mental disorder, Long said.
“In this region, unfortunately, there are a lot of people who get involuntarily committed,” Long said. In 2005, 1,837 people were involuntarily committed in the five counties, he said.
Designated crisis responders can commit a person for 72 hours, and that now triggers a $200 fee to file paperwork with the court.
A court hearing follows and the person can be recommitted for 14 days. Another hearing follows that, and if they still have not recovered the person can be recommitted for 90 or 180 days.
The North Sound Mental Health Administration Board of Directors approved paying the fee starting July, but a billing system with the court system is pending.
The group serves Snohomish, Island, Skagit, Whatcom and San Juan counties and channels $50 million a year in state and federal money to pay for public mental health treatment for low income people and those on Medicaid.
An estimated bill of $300,000 to $500,000 for court fees will be drawn from a $6 million pot of state money within the North Sound Mental Health Administration budget.
If not for the court fees, Long said, the money is intended to cover mental health services for the poor who do not qualify for federal Medicaid coverage.
Snohomish County and its Superior Court stands to gain the most money from the redistribution because it has 50 percent to 60 percent of the involuntary commitment court cases.
County Councilman Dave Gossett, president of the mental health Board of Directors, is pushing for any unexpected boost in court fee revenue to be earmarked for human services so services don’t suffer.
“Any new money the county gets, we should budget it for mental health issues,” Gossett said. The goal is to “try to preserve those as mental health dollars.”
Gossett sent a memo to county officials broaching the subject in September and said he hopes to renew discussions during debates over the proposed 2007 county budget.
Reporter Jeff Switzer: 425-339-3452 or jswitzer@heraldnet.com.
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