A key state official says ensuring mentally ill Iowans have access to the “full array of services” should be a top concern for policymakers. Iowa Department of Human Services director Jerry Foxhoven has been in the job since June.
Foxhoven made his comments during a “town hall meeting” sponsored by Iowa Methodist Hospital. Foxhoven credited the parents of an 18-year-old who took his own life this fall for “stepping up” and focusing attention on “the gaps” in Iowa’s mental health care system.
According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, about 600-thousand Iowans live with some form of mental illness.
Policymakers considering fixes for the state’s mental health care system are talking about adding more patient beds, but another goal is getting more psychiatrists and psychologists to practice in Iowa. Some local officials want counties to have more authority in distributing mental health treatment dollars.
