The Nation - News from April 4, 1988

Federally supported mental health services have suffered crippling cuts in staff and dollars during the Reagan Administration and the programs should be restored to pre-1981 levels or higher, a bipartisan House committee said in a report. The report, which did not specify the pre-1981 spending, was issued by the Government Operations Committee and says the government is spending billions a year on mental health services that often are fragmented and ineffective. The committee also accused the Office of Management and Budget of dictating a staff cut of 88% at one mental health division.