By JULIE CARLE
BG Independent News
The Wood County Alcohol, Drug Addiction and Mental Health Services Board and staff completed its exhaustive process for determining the services and amounts it will fund when the new fiscal year starts in July.
Programs that were approved for System of Care funding based on the board’s strategic plan are:
Children’s Resource Center: $3,078,343
- Fee for Service—$1,197,240
- Residential Unit—$1,725,025
- Crisis After Hours—$156,077
Harbor: $2,788,407
- Fee for Service—$695,000
- Forensic/Adult Care Facility Monitor—$28,100
- Individual Placement and Support—$246,645
- Connection Center—$537,967
- Housing Assistance Program—$121,205.32
- Class 2 Residential (Community Residential)—$670,070
- Transition to Independence (TIP)—$215,000
- Housing and Urban Development (HUD)—$73,426
- Semi-Independent—$200,991
Unison: $2,349,011
- Fee for Service—$710,000
- Hospital Liaison—$112,759
- Crisis Services—$626,251
- Crisis Stabilization Center—$900,000
Wood County Educational Services Center: $1,263,490
- Community Learning Centers Prevention—$190,787
- Diversion Prevention—$204,255
- Prevention Coalition Prevention—$6,371
- Substance Abuse Prevention—$431,038
- Suicide Prevention—$431,038
WCADAMHS Board Budget: $1,088,653
OhioGuidestone: $253,829
- Fee for Service—$90,000
- Criminal Justice Liaison—$64,324
- Criminal Justice Screener—$86,504
- Community Transition Reimbursement—$8,000
- Expressive Arts—$5,000
The Cocoon: $426,200
- Shelter Program—$426,200
NAMI Wood County: $230,349
- Peer-to-Peer—$9,826
- Wellness Recovery Action Plan—$11,156
- Family-to-Family—$8,746
- NAMI Basics—$8,255
- Connection Recovery Support Group—$12,792
- Family Support Group—$9,538
- Education Series—$23,589
- Mental Health First Aid—$18,964
- Crisis Intervention Team (CIT)—$32,333
- Ending the Silence—$9,107
- KidShop—$9,173
- Advocacy Program—$76,865
Special Projects/System of Care Supports:
- Marketing—$25,000
- Mini Grants—$5,000
- Workforce Development—$25,000
- Disaster Response—$25,000
- Addiction Task Force—$9,200
- Overdose Awareness (Grant)—$14,500
- Gongwer Legislative Updates—$4,000
- Transportation—$60,000
- Probate/Legal Fees—$1,500
- Bed Days/Adult Care Facilities—$350,000
- Family and Children’s First Council Dues—$20,000
- Assisted Outpatient Treatment—$4,000
- Guardian Services Board—$32,121
- George Mason—$10,000
- Access to Wellness Funds—$25,000
- Psychotropic Drug Reimbursement (Flow-Through-Jail)—$42,000
- Community Transition Program—$5,000
- Crisis Flex Funds—$15,000
- Gambling Prevention—$42,076
- Harm Reduction—$32,000
- Targeted Violence and Threat Prevention (Grant)—(TBD)
- Bipartisan Safer Community Act (Grant)—$75,000
- System Navigator—$117,835
- Executive Director Discretionary—$10,000
Suicide Prevention Coalition (NAMI WC Fiscal Agent)—$40,000
Zepf Center: $140,000
- Fee for Service—$140,000
H.O.P.E in Fostoria: $13,755
With expenditures estimated at $12,621,872 to support mental health and addiction services in Wood County and anticipated revenues of $11,288,109, WCADAMHS Executive Director Amanda Kern explained that the agency would need to use more than $1.33 million from the agency’s fund balance to cover the approved services.
The bulk of the revenue—$8,766,505—comes from the local levy, which causes concern if the proposed ban on property taxes becomes a ballot issue in Ohio.
State grants and funding totaling $1.8843 million comes from criminal justice state block grants for criminal justice ($52,267), prevention ($36,421), recovery supports ($233,837), mental health ($1,119,881), substance use disorder ($109,192), crisis services ($170,186), pilot funding for adult mobile crisis ($121,046), substance use disorder gambling addiction prevention ($42,076) allocation and behavioral health drug reimbursement ($42,000).
Federal revenues total $585,697 including Title XX Mental Health ($60,000), Mental Health Federal Block Grant ($54,136), Prevention Federal Block Grant ($120,211), Substance Use Disorder Federal Block Grant ($201,850),Targeted Violence and Terrorism Prevention for behavior intervention and prevention ($60,000), Bipartisan Safe Community Act ($75,000) and Overdose Awareness Grant ($14,500O).
Additionally, $1,000 is anticipated in memorial donations and $8,000 in other reimbursements/receipts.
Kern said $215,000 for transition to independence housing was added to the budget “at the 11th hour.” The program offers an evidence-based model that provides intensive case management, support groups and daily living assistance for young adults with behavioral health challenges.
The additional budget item was included to ensure “enough funding to sustain programming for another few months with a reduced model and then bring it back to the board for further action,” she said. They are looking for additional funding sources before any final decisions are made. “Even if the program doesn’t continue, we want to have funding to be able to wind down services.”
An additional change in the budget from previous drafts included “a slight adjustment” for NAMI Wood County, Kern said. The additional $15,000 (from $215,000 to $230,000) was adjusted to “make sure that it keeps NAMI whole” despite losing a staff member.
“We sat down and negotiated because I still want them to provide some education and do some of our strategic plan initiatives with us,” Kern said.
An adjustment was also made to the System of Care Supports budget line that funds bed days in adult care facilities. “We wanted to make sure that for everyone we currently had in placement, we had enough funds available to cover an entire year’s worth of their stays,” Kern explained. “We have quite a few individuals with a partner project in Hancock County that is an adult care facility that provides 24-hour staffing.”
The system navigator position, which was added to the System of Care budget, will also be working with the individuals in housing to make sure they are trying to apply for benefits and house supports to help offset the board’s costs.
“We’re trying to contain that cost, but between ths hospitalization and all the adult care facility bed days, it’s a growing cost and something that we will pay attention to in the fiscal year,” she said.
The board also approved contracts for each of the agencies in a resolution that included all the contracts in one vote.
Frank McLaughlin noted that he would have preferred that the contracts be voted on individually, as had been done in the past. Individual contracts would have allowed board members an opportunity to comment on individual discussion about contracts that I think has always been beneficial. It also would have allowed any board member who has a professional or personal dealing with any of the vendors to abstain from voting on the contract.
“I have no concerns about the contact of the contracts,” he said. “I’m uneasy with the process.”
The board agreed to proceed with the single vote for all the contracts but suggested reviewing the process before next year’s allocation process.
