For Immediate Release
November 7, 2005

Contact: Dorothy Hendrickson
(714) 834-2907

Orange County’s Mental Health Services Act Plan Available For Public Comment

(Santa Ana) – Orange County’s Mental Health Services Act (MHSA) plan will be available beginning November 7th for a 30-day public review and comment period.

Over 90 community meetings attended by over 4,000 people have been conducted since January to gather input for the MHSA plan, which must be approved by the California Department of Mental Health before funding is received. The plan will be available beginning today at public libraries, select senior and community centers, mental health organizations and on the Internet at www.ochealthinfo.com/prop63. The public comment period concludes with an Orange County Mental Health Board meeting on Thursday, December 8th at the Crystal Cathedral in Garden Grove. The Orange County Board of Supervisors must also approve the plan before it is submitted to the State.

The Mental Health Services Act, also known as Proposition 63, was approved by California voters in 2004 and designates funds from an additional one percent tax on incomes over one million dollars for use on mental health programs. The Orange County plan includes proposals to serve a wide range of people with serious mental illness, from children and youth to adults and older adults. For more information about Orange County’s MHSA plan, please contact the MHSA Office at (714) 834-2907.

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