Connecticut Shootings Prompt Focus on Mental Health Issues - Central Coast News KION/KCBA

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -- State lawmakers are turning their attention to mental health issues in the wake of the Connecticut school shootings.

California Senate President Darrell Steinberg said today he is asking the Obama administration to adopt California's mental health services act as a model for the nation.  The act, passed as proposition 63 in 2004, raised incomes taxes on the wealthy to expand the state's mental health services, including prevention and early intervention programs.

At a press conference at the state capitol today, Steinberg and several mental health experts spoke of the need for educating people on how to identify symptoms of mental illness and where to get help.