David Pitt from the Associated Press stated in an article in the Times-Republican that news from Des Moines Iowa is that…
Changes to Iowa’s mental health system have left counties short of money and forced some to drop mentally disabled people from programs.1
The article went on to say that….
County officials blame a new state law that shifts control over Medicaid-funded mental health services from counties to the state. The change is part of larger reforms of Iowa’s mental health care system designed to make services more uniform, in part by taking control away each of Iowa’s 99 counties.1
This is a particularly sad and worrying piece of news in my opinion and I encourage folk to read the full article which can be found here.
Being from Ireland I am not sure how it all works in the USA and one question I do have is…
Whilst I understand from reading this article that this news is localized to Iowa, is it as a result of a National trend or legislation and is the same thing likely to happen in other states within the USA?
Mental Health Writers' Guild 
It’s my understanding it’s been happening in various cities, counties and states for many decades now. I guess because it was such big news and such a big city, although I don’t know all of the details I do remember when funding was cut in New York City and the institutions that took care of people who couldn’t care for themselves and couldn’t afford healthcare were literally put out on the streets. That’s where the influx of homeless “crazy” people on the streets of New York came from, what they were called and why they’re still there and still called names like “crazy.” There’s no money to help them, no meds for them to take, no one, seemingly, to care about them. They’ve been lumped into the category of other homeless people called “junkies” or “winos.” Apparently it doesn’t make a lot of difference to most people — they’re a nuisance and “something should be done about them” yet nothing, to my limited knowledge, has been done.
You know about living on the streets. I came within months of that myself due to lack of finances for years after my illnesses got out of control. It breaks my heart because I know that there, but for the grace of God . . .
My sister, who lives in a different state than I do, said they recently had someone elected to a state office who had dyslexia and one of the first things he did was sign an act regarding children, dyslexia and the education system in their state. Maybe this is what will have to happen for the homeless, especially those with mental health issues — someone who’s walked in their shoes or has a family member who’s walked in their shoes getting into a place where they can affect laws.
Again, my knowledge is limited. I’m sure other people could give a more informative comment than I’m capable of doing.