The National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors (NASMHPD) officials offered a Congressional briefing examining state mental health funding. The briefing noted that states have cut mental health agency budgets by $2.2 billion between FY2009 and FY2011. In addition, NASMHPD notes that 60 percent of states reported higher demand for community-based mental health services over the same period. Finally, NASMHPD found that five states have closed a total of six state psychiatric hospitals since 2010.

Full Briefing: The Impact of the State Fiscal Crisis on State Mental Health Systems (PDF | 587 KB) 

National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors. (2011). The impact of the state fiscal crisis on state mental health systems. Martone, K.