Is the Mental Healthcare Measure Working in California?
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The so-called "Millionaire's Tax,"-- Prop 63, passed in 2004 -- has generated some $7 billion, all spent on mental healthcare. Then came the recession. Are needy patients now getting the care they require? Are voters getting what they were promised? Also, are massive pensions funds for teachers and other public employees invested in companies that make guns like those used in the Newtown massacre? State Treasurer Bill Lockyer wants to know. On our rebroadcast of today's To the Point, a national perspective on mental illness: are sick people being allowed to fall through the cracks?
Making News
State Treasurer Calls for Divestment from Gun Companies ()
America's two biggest pension funds are the California Teachers' and Public Employees' Retirement Systems — abbreviated as CalSTRS and CalPERS. Have they invested in companies that make military-style assault weapons like the one used to kill so many children last week in Newtown Connecticut? California's State Treasurer, Bill Lockyer, wants to know.
Guests:
- Bill Lockyer: California State Treasurer
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Main Topic
The Challenge of Mental Illness ()
In 2004, voters passed Proposition 63, a one percent tax on Californians who earn more than a million dollars a year. The so-called “Millionaire's Tax,” has now raised some $7 billion — all designated for mental healthcare. Since Governor Brown eliminated the State Department of Mental Health, prevention, treatment — and possible cure -- are now in the hands of California's 58 counties.
Guests:
- Kirsten Barlow: California Mental Health Directors Association
- Jim Preis: Mental Health Advocacy Services, @MHAS_LA
- William Arroyo: Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health
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Main Topic
Newtown Massacre and the Lessons about Mental Illness ()
Nobody will ever know what led Adam Lanza to slaughter twenty 6- and 7-year-olds last Friday at the Sandy Hook School in Newtown, Connecticut. But what has been reported strongly suggests that he was a young man who needed help. Is it ever possible to know what a killer is thinking? In 1999, as a reporter for the Los Angeles Times, Rick Meyer interviewed 17-year-old Jamie Rouse for more than 30 hours over several days. Using a semiautomatic rifle, Rouse had killed a teacher and a 14-year-old student at the Richland High School in Lynnwood, Tennessee.
Guests:
- Richard Meyer: journalist
- Jennifer Hoff: health educator and advocate
- Linda Rosenberg: National Council for Behavioral Health, @linda_rosenberg
- Joel Dvoskin: University of Arizona Medical School
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Underwriters
Which Way L.A.? is made possible in part by the Ralph M. Parsons Foundation and the Rosalinde and Arthur Gilbert Foundation.
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