North Carolina Faces a Mental Health Dilemma

WCNC.com of Charlotte, NC has a gut-wrenching story of how the state of North Carolina faces a sharp reduction in federal funds because too many people with mental illness have been put up in adult care homes, which are custodial in nature and do not provide psychiatric treatment. After years of "kicking the can down the road," the state, which faces a $2.7 billion budget shortfall, lacks the money to build community-based mental health centers and inpatient facilities, adult care homes are worried about going out of business if Medicaid money is cut off, and families of mental patients are concerned that their relatives may be forced into the streets.