House OKs increase in mental-health funding

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By Charlotte Eby | Saturday, April 21, 2007 4:08 PM CDT | () comments

DES MOINES — The Iowa House on Friday approved $13.3 million to help counties provide care to people with mental-health conditions or developmental disabilities, under a measure pushed by Rep. Elesha Gayman, D-Davenport.

Many counties have faced a perennial problem of finding enough money, and Scott County officials announced earlier this year they would cut services because of budget shortfalls.

Gayman said the state assistance will help keep down property taxes Iowans pay. Her plan also called for study to see what other financial assistance the state could provide.

“I think it’s going to be an exciting opportunity to look at what we can fund at a state level and start moving to that direction rather than having a nightmare every year,” Gayman said.

Gayman calls the issue one of the biggest that legislators from Scott County have worked on this session.

A total of $12 million would be sent to counties that are close to the limit they can levy for property taxes. Another $7.6 million will pay for cost increases in all counties, and $1.3 million would be set aside in a risk pool or emergency fund.

Rep. Linda Miller, R-Bettendorf, called the mental health funding situation for some counties a crisis. She called the extra money a “Band-Aid,” and hopes the Legislature can find a long-term fix.

“This gives us some hope we can get through the next year and actually study how we can actually make sure that we don’t have the same problem again next year,” Miller said.

Rep. Scott Raecker, R-Urbandale, countered with a plan that would spend another $4 million to ensure no one loses services.

“Is it too much to ask for $4 million more to meet the needs of Iowans?” Raecker said.

He argued the money was needed to offset increases in the cost of programs such as adult day care and day care for exceptional children.

But Democrats, including Gayman, defeated Raecker’s amendment.

“We really needed to get a sustainable plan that would work for us, work with our budget constraints, and also really start to address some of the concerns and disparities with the (funding) formula across the state,” Gayman said.

Rep. Jamie Van Fossen, R-Davenport, was pleased to see an additional $21 million approved, but wanted to see lawmakers back another $4 million.

“We need to be a fuller partner with the counties on mental-health funding like other states do,” Van Fossen said.

The proposal is part of a bill allocating dollars in the state’s health and human services budget and must still gain approval in the Senate.

Charlotte Eby can be contacted at (515) 243-0138 or chareby@aol.com.