By Madeleine Baran, Minnesota Public Radio News

ST. PAUL — Gov. Mark Dayton wants counties to pay millions of dollars more to help fund mental health treatment at two state-run facilities.

The governor’s budget proposal, released last week, calls for counties to pay a greater share of the cost for patients at the troubled Minnesota Security Hospital and the Anoka Metro Regional Treatment Center. The two facilities provide long-term psychiatric treatment to adults with severe mental illness.

By requiring counties to pay more, counties will have a financial incentive to work more quickly to move patients back into the community, said Anne Barry, deputy commissioner of the state Department of Human Services. The state would use the extra money to pay for mental health services for formerpatients who need assistance with housing, in-home medical care and other issues, Barry said.

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