Supervisors Approve Letter To DHS

Mahaska-County-Courthouse

Oskaloosa, Iowa – The Mahaska County Board of Supervisors met Monday morning to further refine the direction for the county in regards to the mental health region.

The Department of Human Services (DHS) is requiring the county to join another region, after DHS said that the two county region Mahaska was a part of is no longer an option.

The Supervisors have sent a letter to the DHS asking for an administrative hearing about the decision.

Until that decision is made, Mahaska County must also be looking for a new region to join, in the event that DHS stands by their original decision, or DHS will make that choice for Mahaska County. On Monday, the Board chose to open communication with the region to the south of Mahaska County.

Mahaska County Supervisor Mike Vander Molen was not in attendance Monday morning, and expressed himself in an email about the meeting time. “Mr. Doland and Mr. Van Weelden scheduled this meeting knowing that I wasn’t available to meet today. I find their action to be unprofessional and contrary to the spirit of cooperation that should exist on the Board.”

Board Chairman Mark Doland said he asked Vander Molen for his availability. “It’s very difficult to get a hold of him,” said Doland.

Doland added that he will be out of town starting Tuesday. “We’re under a strict timeline from the state. We had a meeting to get necessary business taken care of.”