PRESS RELEASE – The Four County Alcohol, Drug Addiction and Mental Health Services board approved most of its behavioral health services contracts for the fiscal year starting July 1 at its April board meeting on Thursday.
The contracts total $5,692,846 and are with nine agencies that serve clients from Defiance, Fulton, Henry and Williams counties. The money will be used to provide mental health and substance use/abuse services for clients with limited income.
Specifically, the contracts and amounts are with the Center for Child and Family Advocacy, $240,000; Maumee Valley Guidance Center, $1,477,550; New Home Development Company, $520,500; and Northwest Ohio Community Action Commission (The PATH Center), $95,000.
Also, Ohio Guidestone, $1,384,796; Recovery Services of Northwest Ohio, $1,220,000; Health Partners of Western Ohio, $540,000; Arrowhead Behavioral Health, $100,000; and the Williams County Health Department, $115,000, which will be shared by all four county health departments.
The ADAMhs Board also approved $5,500 for the Fulton County Health Department as its share of the cost of the next Fulton County health needs assessment that will be done this year.
Finally, the board approved two motions to clarify a contract amendment approved last month for Northwest Ohio Community Action Commission.
The commission will receive an additional $37,000 in state funding for the current fiscal year to provide incentives for landlords to rent housing to persons with behavioral health issues who are re-entering the community. The commission’s total contract with the board will not exceed $132,000.
In her report to the board, CEO Tonie Long announced that six northwest Ohio ADAMhs boards have been awarded a $300,000 grant to develop a written, comprehensive plan to provide behavioral health services following any type of disaster or crisis.
Long explained such services would be needed following a natural disaster such as a tornado or any type of accident that results in numerous serious injuries and fatalities.
The grant is funded by the Bipartisan Safer Communities Act for Behavioral Health Disaster Preparedness.
TBD Solutions, a Grand Rapids, Michigan firm, has been selected to work with the boards to prepare a written plan for each board as well as a broader plan that details how the board areas would work together to provide behavioral health services when a disaster affects multiple board areas or is too great for a board area to handle on its own.
In addition to the Four County ADAMhs Board, the following boards are also part of the grant: Putnam County; Paulding, Van Wert and Mercer counties; Hancock County; Allen, Auglaize and Hardin counties; and Huron/Erie counties.
Long said the plan should be completed by the end of the year and includes funds to train all relevant partners in each board area about how behavioral health services would be accessed when a disaster occurs.
She added that the Four County ADAMhs Board will receive $12,000 from the grant so it is prepared to offer traumatic grief services following a large scale disaster.
Long also reported that she intends to complete the Culture of Quality program that has been developed by the Ohio Association of County Behavioral Health Authorities and its member boards.
The program is designed to improve the quality of the statutorily mandated functions of county boards administering local alcohol, drug addiction and mental health services for Ohioans.
The Culture of Quality program brings consistency to the local board system through self-regulation while preserving flexibility for boards to be responsive to the needs of their respective constituencies, she explained.
Long said that the board association has prepared a detailed check list of all board responsibilities included in state statute. That check list will be used to assure that all written policies comply with current state statute and that written policies are in place that address all of the statutes.
Once that is finished, the board association will review the Four County board’s policy manual for completeness before it is recognized as a certified Culture of Quality program.
Finally, Lisa Jones was introduced as the board’s part-time project manager. A Northwest State Community College graduate, she has worked for Family Services of Northwest Ohio and most recently for Holgate Elementary School.
It will be her responsibility to monitor and complete required reporting for all grants that the Four County ADAMhs Board receives as well as seek and apply for additional grant funded programs that would benefit the board’s behavioral health programming and services.
