Does cutting mental health care increase the prison population?

The Washington Post, Suzy Khimm, 06/02/2011 Reposted at darkestcloset.bloggerspot.com

State-supported mental health care, like many social services, has been especially vulnerable in the recent rounds of budget cuts. Over the past two years, some $1.6 billion has been slashed from non-Medicaid state spending on mental health, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness. But a growing number of law enforcement officials - along with mental health advocates - are voicing concerns that such cutbacks not only hurt mental health beneficiaries but also overburden the country's prison system.