Occupational Therapy Jobs Arizona Benefit from Increasing Mental Health Budget

While those with occupational therapy jobs Arizona (http://rehabjob.abrazohealth.com) are seeing more job security as the state's mental health budget increases, those in other states aren't so lucky.

"State Mental Health Cuts: The Continuing Crisis," a new report from the National Alliance on Mental Illness, found that states have cut a total of $1.6 billion from mental health funding between 2009 and 2012.

However, Arizona is one of only 22 states that saw their mental health budgets grow over the last few years, while 28 states saw declining budgets. Arizona's budget increased by 5.6 percent to $520.5 million, with only 11 other states reporting larger increases.

The 10 states that saw the largest mental health care cuts between 2009 and 2012 are:

1. South Carolina - 39.3 percent
2. Alabama - 36 percent
3. Alaska - 32.6 percent
4. Illinois - 31.7 percent
5. Nevada - 28.1 percent
6. District of Columbia - 23.9 percent
7. California - 21.2 percent
8. Idaho - 17.9 percent
9. Kansas - 12.4 percent
10. Mississippi - 10.4 percent

"The mental health crisis is not just about state budget cuts," NAMI Executive Director Mike Fitzpatrick, said in a statement. "People with life-threatening mental illness are being abandoned. The more that mental health care is provided through Medicaid, the greater the risk exists that uninsured or underinsured individuals won't receive the help they need. It is important to meet the needs of Medicaid enrollees, but not at the expense of uninsured or underinsured individuals living with serious mental illness."