Massachusetts lags far behind many states in its treatment and services for those who suffer from severe and debilitating mental illness and substance use disorder. For most, treatment options are determined by insurance companies or insufficient state funding levels. This, in large part, has created the condition where our courts, jails and correctional facilities have become the de-facto treatment providers for many of our most vulnerable and sickest residents at a huge cost that serves neither them nor the Commonwealth. We need to do a better job of providing greater resources for mental health care, implement laws that provide real treatment to those who suffer from severe mental illness and addiction, and divert those individuals who interact with law enforcement away from the criminal justice system and into appropriate treatment.