The Santa Barbara County Grand Jury took the Sheriff’s Department to task in its report “Homeless Mentally Ill Indigent Recidivism; This Recycling Isn’t Good for the County.” But the Alcohol, Drug and Mental Health Services department (ADMHS) did not get off scot-free. The report found that not only is there a dearth of mental health treatment beds for the uninsured mentally ill homeless her—which everybody knows—but there is also a scarcity of outpatient treatment resources for this population.
In its mandated response to the report, submitted July 14, ADMHS agreed there weren’t enough inpatient mental health beds for the homeless mentally ill. But it only partially agreed with the finding that outpatient treatment facilities are limited.
ADMHS responded that homeless mentally ill residents who have a severe and persistent mental illness can access not only crisis care, but ongoing treatment as well. To read more, see homelessinsb.org.