LAWMAKER STRESSES MENTAL HEALTH FUNDING

CHEYENNE (AP) Though money is tight, Wyoming should continue to fund
changes in its mental health and substance abuse treatment system to
keep it from backsliding into being one of the worst in the nation, a
state lawmaker said.

"People come first," Rep. Keith Gingery, R-Jackson, said. "We have to
make them the highest priority."

Gingery is co-chairman of the Legislature's Select Committee on Mental
Health and Substance Abuse Services.

The committee is proposing legislation to spend $14.2 million to
continue fixing what had been a dysfunctional mental health and
substance abuse treatment system.

Gingery expects supporters will have to work hard to ensure that the
money will be appropriated in the legislative session that begins Jan.
13. Lawmakers expect to have fewer dollars than in the past few years
for new expenditures.

Gingery said Wyoming has gone from having one of the worst mental
health and substance abuse treatment programs to one of the best.
That's because of increased funding since 2005, he said, that has
allowed the state to overhaul the system and move toward a regional
delivery system. He said there is evidence that the system is helping
with persistent problems like meth addiction, especially in the
Cheyenne and Casper areas.

"We are trying to equalize the system," Gingery said, "so all
communities get a fair shake."

The proposed bill would provide:

- -- $700,000 for early intervention with preschoolers.

- -- $260,000 toward a group home for those with mental
illness.

- -- $3 million toward crisis stabilization programs in five regions
around the state, allowing for someone who is suffering from a
schizophrenic episode or suicide attempt to receive treatment near
home rather than at the State Hospital in Evanston.

- -- $3.6 million toward treatment programs in four regions for people
who have both mental illness and substance abuse problems.

- -- $3.1 million toward raising salaries for mental health and
substance abuse treatment providers.

- -- $3.5 million toward adult acute psychiatric care in a hospital in
each of five regions.

Gingery said the state has made steady progress since forming the
select committee in 2005, and improvements have saved money by
providing local access to an appropriate level of care, reducing
unnecessary hospitalizations and addressing work force shortages.