ATLANTA - Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue has signed a bill that shakes up the state bureaucracy that oversees health and social service programs.
The new law restructures programs now handled by two state agencies, reshuffling them among three. The revamp includes a new Department of Behavioral Health to handle mental health and addictive disease programs.
The state's mental health system has been under fire and faced scrutiny from the U.S. Department of Justice.
The legislation Perdue signed on Monday is based on recommendations by the Health and Human Services Task Force.
The Department of Human Resources spends $3.8 billion every year. It hasn't undergone a major overhaul since it was formed more than three decades ago under then-Gov. Jimmy Carter.