“The Dilemma of Mental Commitments in California.” Photo by UC Davis Library If there was any single event that sped the emptying of state asylums in California in the late 1960s and early 1970s, it was the publication of a 204-page report entitled, “The Dilemma of Mental Commitments in California.” The report was an exposé, a philosophical treatise, and a policy prescription.
Image by Wasan TitaSome of the most challenging negotiations lawmakers face come when trying to remove an initiative from the upcoming ballot. There’s a reason for that. Actually, a lot of reasons.
CAPITOL WEEKLY PODCAST: Is the use of NDAs as sinister as critics make out? Our guest today, former Speaker Robert Hertzberg argues that confidentiality agreements are a key part of building trust in sensitive legislative negotiations between diametrically opposed parties – and are sometimes the only way to get warring sides to the table.
A homeless person sleeping on the street. Photo from Shutterstock user easyshutter.CAPITOL WEEKLY PODCAST: Last week, Gov. Gavin Newsom released a proposal for a $3 billion bond measure aimed at the 2024 ballot, to fund housing for people with severe mental illness. At the same time, Newsom asked the legislature to revise 2004’s Proposition 63. Author and journalist Dan Morain joined us to talk about the two proposals, the half century of policy and politics that got us to where we are today, and shared his own personal story of a family member unable to live on his own after a devastating accident.
Via ShutterstockIn California, the state that led all others in the failed social experiment of emptying psychiatric hospitals, the pendulum clearly is swinging. Not that Gov. Gavin Newsom aims to return to the days when forgotten souls were locked away in large asylums. But in a proposal to be detailed on Sunday, Newsom will call on legislators to place a $3 billion bond measure before voters in 2024 to pay to house thousands of people with severe mental illness.
Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg at a 2018 City Council meeting. (Photo: Associated Press)When Darrell Steinberg first ran for the state Assembly in 1998, he made mental health the bedrock of his legislative agenda. Shortly after he took office, the former Sacramento city councilman introduced AB 34, which initially provided $10 million to fund pilot projects for community mental-health programs. The bill marked the first significant state investment in an increasingly troubled mental health system in decades, resulting in what Steinberg called “the beginnings of real success, with decreased hospitalizations and reduced homelessness.”
Dennis Mangers (Photo: Tim Foster, Capitol Weekly)We sat down with Mangers to chat about the changes that have turned Orange County blue (or maybe purple) and about life after elected office. These days Mangers, a former lobbyist and president of the California Cable & Telecommunications Association, is an adviser to Sacramento Mayor Darrell Steinberg and is busy supporting the nonprofit Dennis Mangers Fund for Young Performing Artists.