One of the hot-button topics currently being discussed during the Iowa legislative session is mental health. Representatives in the house and senate can agree that something needs to be done regarding mental health, though opinions about how best to tackle the problem vary depending on which side of the aisle they’re on. State Representative Jarad Klein (R) says he’s been working on policy changes he believes will be helpful. He explains, “One identified locally – by our local supervisors, sheriffs, mental health folks – is removing some barriers that currently the state has that are more stringent than the federal government on law enforcement and mental health professionals being able to share very basic information. We are going to try to bring that obstacle down.” Klein believes they’ll be able to get the policy change done, and he feels it will increase the safety of law enforcement and patients.

State Senator Rich Taylor (D) feels there is a crisis with mental health in Iowa, which will only be exacerbated by the proposed budget cuts to the Independence and Cherokee mental health facilities. He believes the problem can only be fixed if they reopen all four state-run mental health facilities, including the one in Mt. Pleasant, because he feels care in the community is important for the patients’ recovery. He adds, “Private providers don’t have to take people if they’re too bad. If they don’t think they can take care of them, they don’t have to take them. So if we have no state facilities, we’re setting these people back out on the street and trying to force their families, that are not prepared to take care of them, to do so. And in such, these people are ending up in our prison system, and that’s not where they need to be.” For more information about the mental health issues and other legislative topics, find In Touch with Southeast Iowa interviews with Klein and Taylor at KCIIRadio.com.