Blog note: this article mentions three grand jury reports that identified the effects of cutbacks in mental health services.
In line with their continuing discussion about placing a locked psychiatric facility in Mendocino County, a proposal by county officials to amend and retain an existing agreement with a consultant for a mental health needs assessment, extending that contract by a year and the amount paid by $40,000 is on the Board of Supervisors’ agenda for Tuesday.
According to the agenda summary for the May 8 meeting, the supervisors are scheduled to discuss the item and possibly approve the amendment to the county’s agreement with the Kemper Consulting Group, extending it from June 30, 2018 to June 30, 2019 and increasing payment from $25,000 to $65,000 utilizing Measure At the March 28 meeting of the Mental Health Treatment Act Citizen’s Oversight Committee meeting, county CEO Carmel Angelo stated she, along with committee chairman Tom Allman, had a phone conference with consultant Lee Kemper where he expressed interest in working with the county to do the assessment, but officials learned Health and Human Services had an existing contract with Kemper, so Angelo stated it would be easy to request the agreement be amended and sent to the Board of Supervisors for approval.
A definition of services to be provided by the consultant includes assisting the Health and Human Services Agency and the county’s Executive Office with the implementation of the recommendations included in the Kemper Group’s health system review of county services delivered two years ago, and guiding of the county with other facility, service and organizational assessments as needed including the desired mental health needs assessment.
Some areas of tension identified in the 2016 Kemper report in regard to the county’s mental health system included a lack of in-county residential area and crisis residential services, an incomplete interface with the county justice system, and a lack of interface with the county’s substance use disorder treatment services.
The Kemper report referenced three grand jury reports which had identified cutbacks in mental health services impacting law enforcement, the privatization of mental health delivery of services, and apparent conflict of interests among county senior managers and senior staff.
Among the recommendations made by the Kemper Group for improvement of services were addressing a lack of memorandums of understanding between administrative service organizations and various parties, proposed definitions of terms for use in administering ASO contracts and the renewal of a strategy for developing expanded in-county capacity for short-term crisis services and short-term or longer-term residential services.
May 5, 2018
Willits News
By Ariel Carmona, Jr.
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