Three former Department of Health administrators are suing the state, claiming they were terminated from their jobs for complaining about cuts to state mental health services.

Thomas Vendetti, Anne Sturgis and Angela Correale were service-area administrators for the Adult Mental Health Division responsible for coordinating mental health resources on the neighbor islands.

Vendetti was the administrator for Maui County, Sturgis for the Big Island and Correale for Kauai.

The state did not renew their contracts at the end of June.

The lawsuit, filed this week in state court, seeks to have the plaintiffs reinstated. It names as defendants Gov. Linda Lingle, state Health Director Chiyome Fukino and Deputy Director Michelle Hill.

The Health Department said it could not comment because of the pending litigation.

Plaintiffs lawyer Eric Seitz said the terminations highlight the enormous cutbacks in services and the resulting increase in violence and other problems involving people who no longer receive medication and mental health services.

"This Department of Health, through this director and in particular Michelle Hill, who is the person who is the deputy responsible, have acted, in our view, viciously and maliciously to attack these programs and to attack people who stood up to defend them," Seitz said.

Kauai has the highest suicide and attempted suicide rates in the state, many involving state mental health clients, Correale said. However, she said she was not allowed to investigate why they committed suicide or to view their records.

"Over time we’ve watched crucial services being eliminated," Vendetti said, "With those services gone, it’s going to end up costing the taxpayers much more money. People are going to become institutionalized, they’re going to wind up back in the (Hawaii) State Hospital, back in the jails and also using high-end emergency services."