When Donald Trump was elected president to a second term, it was a given that it would return a chaotic form of management to the executive branch.
Some like that style, thinking that shaking up the government is an effective way to create needed changes and reduce spending.
Most times, however, these decisions, whether coming from the president or his underlings, seem haphazard, with no one in the administration thinking much about the consequences until after the panic hits.
Case in point was the recent whiplash inflicted by a federal mental health agency on those who provide addiction and children’s mental health services.
On Jan. 13, the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration announced out of the blue that it was cancelling nearly $2 billion in grants, including more than $14 million awarded to Mississippi.
The providers, which included several community mental health centers in Mississippi, were stunned. The cuts would mean not just laying off staff but curtailing services in a state that already is struggling to meet the demand for mental health care.
The immediate uproar in Mississippi and around the country caused the federal agency to retreat. Two days after the termination letter, it told the impacted organizations that it had changed its mind and to continue the programs funded by the grants.
The providers were relieved, but they should not have been put through the trauma in the first place. Unpredictable decision-making like this just leaves people needlessly on edge.
