PRESS RELEASE – Several contract decisions were made at the Four County ADAMhs Board meeting Thursday afternoon (January 9).
A new $7,500 contract for the rest of the current fiscal year was approved for Together We Can Make a Difference.
The non-profit organization is based in Napoleon and assists individuals and families in northwest Ohio by providing personal care and toiletry items such as diapers, adult briefs and laundry soap that public assistance programs do not provide.
Tonie Long, ADAMhs Board CEO, explained that Together We Can Make a Difference serves more than 50 persons a month who receive behavioral health services through ADAMhs-funded agencies.
A contract amendment totaling some $24,330 was approved for Maumee Valley Guidance Center to provide special training for three staff members who provide behavioral health services at the Juvenile Detention Center.
The training in Cognitive Behavioral Interventions – Substance Use Youth is provided through the University of Cincinnati Corrections Institute and has been developed for youth in the juvenile justice system who have moderate to high need for substance abuse treatment.
Long told the board that the area’s juvenile court judges and JDC administration are supportive of the training and incorporating its treatment philosophy for appropriate youth at the Juvenile Detention Center.
Approval was also given for a contract amendment totaling $300,000 for Recovery Services of Northwest Ohio.
The funding will largely support full staffing at Serenity Spring, the women’s residential treatment facility that opened last year south of Wauseon on State Route 108. It will also fund behavioral health services for uninsured and underinsured individuals who are agency clients.
Long explained that Recovery Services’ original allocation for the current fiscal year was approved last May and included some $440,111 in capital funds that had not been spent yet on the Serenity Spring construction project and renovations at the agency’s other women’s residential facility (Serenity Haven) near Alvordton.
However, after those projects were completed and final invoices were paid that carry-over was depleted and additional agency staffing was needed to operate Serenity Spring, which is now full with eight residents.
Finally, the board authorized giving all current contract agencies a 120-day notice that there may be substantial changes in or non-renewal of their contracts for the fiscal year starting July 1, 2025.
This notice is issued annually, as required by Ohio Revised Code, particularly when a new state biennial budget has not been approved and future state funding for community behavioral health services is unknown.
During the board’s annual review of its policy on committees, some changes were presented for discussion. The main change would create a new “executive advisory committee.”
If approved, the committee would meet as needed with board staff to discuss and recommend policy changes for the entire board to approve.
In her report to the board, Long said two staff members at Recovery Services of Northwest Ohio are working on their traumatic grief training certification.
Additionally, ADAMhs-funded agencies will recommend clients to participate in a week-long, board-sponsored peer support training that will be held in June.
Persons who successfully complete the training will be able to provide peer support programming to complement the professional counseling that clients are receiving.
