Will New Mexico’s mental health cycle break?

For decades, New Mexico has spent millions of dollars trying to fix its mental health crisis — and some say with little to show for it. Now, state lawmakers are making their most ambitious attempt yet, approving $200 million in immediate funding and creating a $1 billion long-term trust fund aimed at transforming behavioral health care.Deep dive: Target 7 InvestigatesBut advocates and officials acknowledge the question remains: Will it work?The legislative package, recently signed by Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham, seeks to address the gaps that have left many like Dellavina and her son trapped in a system of incarceration and untreated illness. Dellavina’s son, who suffers from schizophrenia and has self-medicated with street drugs, has been arrested more than 50 times.”I feel like the system is failing him,” Dellavina said. “It’s a revolving door.”Three-Pronged StrategyThe new approach is threefold: it expands judicial authority to commit individuals in crisis, establishes the billion-dollar trust fund for long-term investments, and allocates $200 million to immediately roll out a program known as the Sequential Intercept Model (SIM).The SIM is a concept pioneered by Miami-Dade County Judge Steve Leifman two decades ago. It focuses on identifying gaps in behavioral health care at every point where individuals encounter the criminal justice system — from initial police contact to court hearings and incarceration.”You figure out what the gaps are in the system so that you can improve the response,” Leifman explained. “You stop the cycling. You stop people ending up on the streets.”Under Miami’s model, new facilities were built, outpatient treatment options expanded, and peer support programs developed. Over time, Miami saw its rate of repeat offenders among the mentally ill drop from 75% to just 20%.Applying the Model to New MexicoNew Mexico’s Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) is now tasked with implementing the model across all judicial districts. Two state Supreme Court justices have already visited Miami to study the program firsthand, and a pilot outpatient initiative has begun in northern New Mexico.”Behavioral health is a really difficult, challenging problem because there’s not one single answer,” said Karl Reifsteck, director of the AOC. “But do I think this is a step in the right direction? Absolutely.”Follow us on social: Facebook | X/Twitter | Instagram | YouTubeA New Era of AccountabilitySenator Peter Wirth (D-Santa Fe), who sponsored Senate Bill 3, admits that simply throwing money at the problem has not worked in the past.”I think that’s what we’ve been doing, quite frankly,” Wirth said. “This is going to re-change the whole way we do things with behavioral health.”The legislation emphasizes accountability, requiring strategic regional planning and measurable outcomes, Wirth said.Patsy Romero, a longtime advocate with the National Alliance on Mental Illness, agrees the trust fund and comprehensive planning are key.”We’re really going to do a deep dive into what’s needed regionally,” Romero said.Hope for FamiliesFor families like Dellavina’s, the stakes couldn’t be higher.”I will never, ever turn my back on my son,” she said. “Because he’s my son, and he needs me.”Action 7 News On The Go: Download our app for free

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