Ottawa County approves mental health positions after month-long delay
OTTAWA COUNTY — A set of eight grant-funded positions for Ottawa County Community Mental Health received approval from the county board on Tuesday, March 14, after an initial vote was delayed last month.
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Commissioners voted unanimously to approve eight full-time CMH positions funded by grants from Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics (six positions) and Medicaid (two).
Positions included an autism supports coordinator, wrap-around coordinator, community health worker, substance abuse services program supervisor, customer service aide and supports coordinator aide, as well as positions to support the organization's senior reach program and multidisciplinary team in Grand Haven.
The total cost of the eight positions is $572,307.20. The additions initially came to the board’s finance and administration committee Tuesday, Feb. 7. At that time, commissioners voted to delay approval in order to have more time to review.
Commissioners, primarily committee chair Gretchen Cosby — a former nurse — asked several questions of CMH Director Lynn Doyle during the February meeting.
Cosby was concerned that using Medicaid dollars for a substance use program supervisor would take financial resources away from other Medicaid uses, such as individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
She didn't support approval at the time due to “the number of positions and the cost,” she said.
Cosby read prepared remarks during the March 14 meeting restating her reasons for holding off on approval before eventually stating her intention to vote yes on the positions.
“I am fully on board with the idea of bringing the right services and the right resources for our community to ease its pain and its need,” Cosby said. “From my perspective as a commissioner, I have to question the grant process because I believe it’s part of my fiduciary responsibility and to make sure we’re giving those kinds of funds, $600,000 annually, to the right resources and for the right work to get done.”
Cosby added she still has questions about the overall goals of the CCBHC grant, progress toward those goals, and the status of CMH’s crisis intervention team and mobile crisis unit.
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Several commissioners thanked Cosby for suggesting the board look into the positions further and for researching the grants.
“I’m really glad we have a board that really wants to understand, really do their job, really learn the details of what’s going on in the county," said Board Chair Joe Moss. "I think that’s great."
Cosby expressed a desire, moving forward, to track the progress and effectiveness of grants received by the county.
“What I’m recommending is that we create a grant productivity report that allows community members and leadership to quickly evaluate the effectiveness of grants,” Cosby said. “Not just CMH grants, but the grants from each department as we receive them. Not all grants are the same and many do come with a lot of entanglements, potentially, for the county.”
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County administrator John Gibbs said he plans to look into grants during the upcoming budget process.
“What you’re describing is what I’m envisioning as part of the budget process, which is a thorough review of all grants we have out there that the entire board can look at,” Gibbs said. “Looking at the grants, making sure we understand what they are, are they being used well, what is the performance of those grants. I fully anticipate that being a part of the whole budget process.”
— Contact reporter Mitchell Boatman at mboatman@hollandsentinel.com. Follow him on Twitter @SentinelMitch.
This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Ottawa County approves mental health positions after month-long delay
