Supervisors Hear Presentation On Mental Health Services
Mahaska County Courthouse
Oskaloosa, Iowa – On Monday, the Mahaska County Board of Supervisors heard from Heather Gross, Coordinator of Disability Service Director, who gave a presentation on mental health services in Mahaska County.
Mahaska County is part of the South Central Behavioral Health region, which they joined in November of 2015 after being part of a failed region that included Mahaska and Marion counties.
The current mental health region includes the counties of Appanoose, Davis, Wapello, and Mahaska.
The core services provided to Mahaska County residents include outpatient mental health treatment, basic crisis response, and supports for community living.
Core plus services are also available to county residents, which includes the popular jail diversion service, and crisis intervention training.
Gross said that the primary work has focused on working with partners, such as Christian Opportunity Center and First Resources, in helping those with disabilities gain employment.
Tenco is a new provider in Mahaska County, and provides services for rehabilitation and SCL.
Also new to Mahaska County is Insight Services, which also provides rehabilitation and housing.
Transitional housing is also available, and five apartments will be in place to assist those searching for housing.
Gross said with the current services available, 15 new jobs were added locally.
The Supervisors recently took some criticism from former county workers who say they found out their jobs were being eliminated from media reports. The county case management was then closed on June 15th, along with four positions.
“I’m feeling pretty good with what we’ve accomplished so far,” added Gross of the current status of mental health services in Mahaska County.
Gross said that the plan is to have a crisis-stabilization facility, similar to Oak Place in Centerville.
The mental health region has been criticized for its handling of Oak Place, and the facility will be closed under a blanket of controversy.
Doland touched on the RFP that has been submitted for crisis-stabilization, and says that Oak Place in Centerville “was really excluding a lot of the referrals that might be coming in.”
Doland says the new model is to pay for service versus a block-grant type of system.
The board also heard from Jeff Heil of Northland Securities in regards to utilizing some bonding capacity now, to help prepare the county for future bonding needs.
The board approved the lockable door and flooring quote for the annex building.
The board accepted and approved the security committee recommendation to lock all the exterior doors to the courthouse, leaving the front door the only point of entrance and exit from the building.
Visitors to the courthouse could still exit the building through various doors in a time of emergency, but an alarm will sound if used.
The next Board of Supervisors meeting will be on September 16, 2017, beginning at 9 am in the 3rd-floor conference room.
