News

07/16/10
MPI News

National Association of Counties Award

Superintendent Mark Gerhardstein, ADAMHS Director Joe Szoke and Clinical and Mental Health Services Manager Carroll Jackson briefed the County Commissioners on the receipt of the 2010 National Association of Counties (NACo) Achievement Award Tuesday, July 13th.
The Mental Health Supports and Services Program of the Montgomery County Board of Developmental Disabilities Services, in Partnership with the Alcohol, Drug Addiction and Mental Health Services (ADAMHS) Board, was awarded a 2010 (NACo) Achievement Award in recognition of an effective and innovative program which contributes to and enhances county government in the United States.
In 2008, the Board of Developmental Disabilities Services recommended that their allocation of funding come directly from the Levy Council instead of through the traditional ADAMHS application of funding process. The reason for the proposal was to improve the financial partnership in delivering this unique service between ADAMHS and the Board of Developmental Disabilities Services. Historically, the Board of Developmental Disabilities Services has not been able to attain the traditional Ohio Department of Mental Health (ODMH) productivity standards (which state that 50% of therapist time must be spent engaging in billable services) because of the intrinsic issues of providing mental health services to people with intellectual disabilities, i.e. people are seen at work, or home; sessions are abbreviated based upon attention span, etc The financial result was the MHSS program would not draw down all the money allocated and the Board of Developmental Disabilities Services would pay two dollars for every one dollar that ADAMHS paid. This resulted in the Board of Developmental Disabilities Services not being able to draw down the available matching and federal dollars to make the provision of the service cost effective.

The solution seemed remarkably simple: The levy council provided the Board of Developmental Disabilities Services the money it would have given ADAMHS to fund the service. Intrinsic in this solution is ADAMHS giving up funds and control to ensure that this needed service is financially sustainable. The collaboration between the Board of Developmental Disabilities Services and the local ADAMHS Board demonstrated how two agencies can work together to come up with a solution to solve a financial inequity.

Carroll stated, "The financial partnership between the Montgomery County DDS Board and our local ADAMHS Board has ensured that specialized mental health services are available to individuals with a dual diagnosis of mental retardation and mental illness and has helped to facilitate a dramatic improvement in the quality of life for the individuals we serve."

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