LAST WEEK: SHOULD FULTON COUNTY OUTSOURCE MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES?
Fulton County commissioners are debating whether the county should stop providing mental health services and outsource it. Pros: It can save a lot of money and speading out resources will provide services for more people. It will allow centralization so there are records of treatment. Cons: Cheaper cost may mean less effective service. How will the contractor be held accountable?
Here’s what some readers had to say:
My first reaction was yes, save taxpayer dollars. But then I thought about the kind of care an outsourcing outfit might provide. I'm torn. Whatever happens, please don't make money the sole reason. — Jane D'Oh
No, Fulton County should not outsource mental health services. There is a trend now of closing mental health facilities and shifting the entire load of caring for the people with mental disabilities to the families.The state of Georgia has already closed, or is about to, close the Georgia Regional Hospital. The officials making the decisions to shift the load to the families have no idea of what it takes to care for the family members with mental disabilities. Privatizing the mental health services is an excuse for later on stopping it altogether in the name of saving funds. The amount of $3,200 to care for each person with mental disabilities is money well-spent.
I know what I am talking about; I have a son who is mentally disable He requires constant attention with his medications and visits to the hospital, and we are constantly on pins and needles that he will get in trouble by harming other people or himself. — Alfredo Rodriguez, Canton
I have a 45-year-old son who was diagnosed with schizophrenia and bi-polar when he was 22. I told him at that time that I would stand by him because he had an illness and it was not his fault. I continue to fight the system so that he can take the newest drugs available for treatment. On the other hand, relatives of those who are diagnosed with a mental health issue, either do not understand or fee embarrassed of the stigma they feel it carries. Also I have been in the bail bond business for 39 years. I have been posting bonds at the Fulton County Jail all of those years. In the beginning they would ship a person with severe systems of mental illness to Georgia Regional Hospital. Then they tried treating them at the jail. Their solution was to give them enough medication to stabilize them and then let them go and tell them to make an appointment with their nearest health department. However, the drugs that the jail provided were the very cheapest drugs and have the most side effects and also sedates them. Once they get out they stop taking their medications and are right back again. People with a diagnosis of mental illness need family support. They need someone to advocate for them to receive better drugs. — Karen Blackmon
A way to help alleviate some of North Fulton’s most notorious traffic backups may be on the horizon.
Fulton County Commissioners and a dozen Fulton mayors recently reached agreement on a transportation sales tax plan to put to the voters in November. The governmental agencies will ask voters whether to approve a .75 cent sales tax hike to raise $500 million to $600 million for various projects over five years.
The General Assembly approved a bill to allow Atlanta to vote on a half-penny sales tax referendum this fall to be spent on MARTA within city limits. Separate language addressed a transportation referendum in Fulton County outside the Atlanta city limits.
A group composed of staffers from various cities and a consultant group has worked up a draft list of possible projects, which is being presented to City Councils in several cities including Alpharetta, Roswell and Sandy Springs.
It includes a dozen-plus Tier I projects designed to ease regional congestion, including widening significant stretches of Haynes Bridge and McGinnis Ferry roads plus Windward Parkway from two to four lanes, and converting a key portion of Old Milton Parkway from four to six lanes east of Ga. 400.
Drivers using Fulton and particularly North Fulton roads, talk to us. What do you see as the biggest road and transportation upgrade needs? And would you support paying higher sales taxes to fund them?
Send comments to communitynews@ajc.com.
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