Yahoo!News.com
In response to the killing of schoolchildren in Connecticut, the federal government should consider California's strategy for dealing with mental illness, experts and lawmakers said Thursday. The Mental Health Services Act passed by voters in 2004 levied a special tax on high-income residents to pay for housing, medication, therapy and other services. The tax has helped more than 60,000 Californians. A fifth of the money is dedicated to prevention and early intervention, though The Associated Press reported in August that tens of millions of dollars had gone to general wellness programs for people who had not been diagnosed with any mental illness. Senate President Pro Tem Darrell Steinberg said the act that he championed has been effective in promoting early and broad-ranging intervention.
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