The primary provider of mental health services to adults in LA County is the Los Angeles County Jail. This shift started a number of years ago when California "reformed" their community mental health system and began privatizing. California is not alone in this. Many states have followed suit as a way to reduce or shift the costs of services. Fiscally it may save money, but in terms of the human cost, it has been a real train wreck. North Carolina is now, sadly, engaged in the same process. The issue is a systemic one. I does not relate to the quality or array of services, it relates to very restrictive gate-keeping practices, basically, rationing of services, that severely limits who will receive services.

Janie