A group of mental health and disability rights advocates filed a class-action lawsuit against state and local agencies in federal court last week to put a stop to the governor’s veto of a long-standing mental health program.
For a quarter of a century, AB 3632 provided critical mental health services to children in California. The program served 20,000 youth in the state – that is, until Oct. 8, when Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger gave it a line-item veto.
“Many of us had worked for months to make sure that this program was safe from budget cuts – and it was,” said Laura Faer, an attorney with Public Counsel, a pro-bono law firm. “But then the blue pencil came out of nowhere.”
The advocates – Public Counsel Law Center, Disability Rights California, Mental Health Advocacy Services and Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher – say the veto violates the federal Americans with Disabilities Act and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act. They asked for a temporary restraining order to keep the program in place while the case is being heard.
The AB 3632 program, which received $133 million in federal and state dollars, funded services that included crisis counseling, case management, medication management and residential placement for children with mental health issues.
The governor has not released a public statement about the cuts to the program. But H.D. Palmer, spokesperson for the California Department of Finance, told California Watch the state does not have the funds to continue the program.
Palmer said even though the state will no longer provide such services, it will expect local agencies to do so.
"There is a federal mandate under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Improvement Act that mandates that schools provide these services," said Palmer. "The schools will continue to provide these services."
But Faer said families are already suffering as counties across the state have stopped providing services and taking referrals.
“The stories are heartbreaking,” she told California Watch. She said her phone has been ringing off the hook with calls from desperate parents asking for help.
One plaintiff in the class-action suit, who is referred to only by the fictitious name of "Andrew" to protect his privacy, has a history of suicide attempts for which he has been hospitalized several times. The 17-year-old was adopted from the foster care system as a toddler after being exposed to fetal alcohol and drugs, according to his mother’s court declaration.
Through the state program, the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health had lined up services for Andrew. In October, he was to be placed in a residential facility through the AB 3632 program. Since the program was slashed, he has been in juvenile hall.
“If my son doesn’t get the psychiatric help he needs, this cycle will continue – my husband and I don’t want him to take his own life or continue feeling like he has no help and way to get better. These services must be reinstated immediately,” Gail Campos, Andrew’s mother, wrote in her court declaration.
Faer, the Public Counsel attorney, also told the story of "A.L.," a 13-year-old with bipolar symptoms and a history of suicide attempts, whose family had recently been able to secure her residence at a 24-hour facility in Utah. On Oct. 12, when A.L., whom Faer asked be referred to only by her initials, arrived at the facility with her mother, they were told that the county department of mental health was no longer paying for the program. Mother and daughter were sent back to southern California on a plane.
Some counties are doing what they can to continue providing services for existing clients but often for a limited time, Faer said. The loss of incoming patients has caused some departments to begin talks of layoffs.
“If there are no more children filling the beds, they have to lay off staff,” Faer said.
Among the list of defendants in the case are the governor, the California Department of Education, the California Department of Mental Health, the California Health and Human Services Agency, the Los Angeles and Torrance unified school districts, and county mental health departments. The lawsuit claims the entities are denying children the right to education-related mental health services required by federal law.
In an Oct. 18 e-mail, the California Department of Education reminded local education agencies across the state that if county mental health agencies fail to provide and pay for special education and related services, federal law requires that "local educational agencies provide or pay for these services in a timely manner."
Candis Bowles, a lawyer with Disability Rights California, said children are entitled to the mental health services regardless of which agency provides them.
"Our position is that the students have a right to these services," she said.
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