Advocates for mentally ill people in Maine say service cuts mean people may end up in jail, rather than in treatment

From The AP:

AUGUSTA, Maine -― Advocates for Maine's mentally ill people are upset over cuts proposed in Gov. John Baldacci's budget, saying that if enacted more mentally ill people will end up in jails and hospitals rather than in proper treatment.

The head of the Maine chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness says the proposed 10 percent cuts in state Medicaid funding would result in a loss of about $90 million in mental health funding.

The mental health group's Carol Carothers tells the Kennebec Journal that would come on top of $48 million that's already been cut. She calls the proposed reductions "foolish policy."

Cumberland County Sheriff Mark Dion says police aren't prepared to deal with the additional calls from people in mental-health crises.