(ALBANY) – The Civil Service Employees Association (CSEA) is Warning New York State Lawmakers that Governor Andrew Cuomo’s Plan to Run Down State Psychiatric Services Will Put More Sick People on the Streets and Stick Local Taxpayers With the Bill.

“Too Many People Suffering From Mental Illness Can’t Get the Help They Need Now and the Governor’s Plan Will Make a ‘Bad’ Situation ‘Worse,’” CSEA President Danny Donohue said.

CSEA Leaders Testified in Farmingdale and Binghamton Earlier This Month Regarding Local Concerns about the Governor’s Plan.  CSEA also Conducted a Statewide Radio and TV Ad Campaign Challenging the Cuomo Administration’s Bad Mental Health Policy.  You can Read CSEA’s Full Testimony here.

CSEA Submitted Testimony to the New York State Senate and Assembly Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities Committees, which Initiated the Hearings on the Plan. 

CSEA Officials said the Governor has Proposed what CSEA Calls a Vague Plan to Consolidate Long-Term Inpatient Treatment for People with Mental Illness, Disrupt Children’s Care and Place Greater Emphasis on Community Services, but – they add - the Administration Has Offered Little Detail About Meeting Needs of People and Communities.

The Cuomo Administration’s Own Office of Mental Health Stated in its Most Recent Five-Year Plan that Current “State Psychiatric Hospital Capacity Cannot Be Responsibly and Rapidly Reduced Without Managed Investments in Community Care,” Union Representatives said - Yet the Administration is Disregarding that Warning.

There is Also Substantial Evidence, CSEA Officials said, that the State Underestimates the Need for Long-Term Care for Seriously and Persistently Mentally Ill People.  Contrary to Some Advocates’ Claims, they said, there are Many Individuals Who Can’t Just Live in Community Settings with Minimal Assistance.  They Need Longer-Term Care and Supervision.  By Some Estimates, More Than Half the Inmates in County Jails and Correctional Facilities Have Some Form of Mental Illness, Union Representatives said.  Many, they add, Wouldn’t Even Be Incarcerated If They Could Get the Help and Care They Need in their Community.  It will be Local Taxpayers Who Will Continue to Foot the Bill and Then Some for the State’s Failure to Ensure Appropriate Services in What Amounts To An Unfunded Mandate, the CSEA says.

New York Has Been Reducing Access to Mental Health Services for the Past 20 years by Closing Psychiatric Centers, which Provide the Backbone of Mental Health Services, including Out-Patient Services, in Many Communities.  “The Governor’s Plan is Just Another ‘Empty’ Promise,” The Union’s Testimony Noted. “Without Any ‘Real’ Detail,’ It Is Impossible to Put Any Faith in the administration’s Claim that this Proposal Will Make Things Better.  We Need a ‘Blueprint,’ Not Press Releases and Sound Bites, for Building a New, Modern Mental Health Care System that will Ensure Access for ‘All’ of New York’s Citizens Who Need It.”