Traverse City, Michigan – A commissioner of Grand Traverse County aims to question how the said county is funding the needs of mental health services in jails on a set committee meeting this coming Wednesday.
The meeting will involve board members that will discuss and consider renewing their contract with Nexus Family Services from Traverse City to provide education programs regarding urgent care, substance abuse, and also life skills to jail inmates.
Herb Lemcool, the Commission Chairman stated that he will ask if Traverse County can afford to pay for the total contract cost which is a part of the county’s general fund money amounting to $680,000 which is annually allocated for Northern Lakes Community Mental Health which is a nonprofit group, in exchange for mental health services in jails and county residents.
Lemcool also stated that Northern Lakes Community Mental Health relies strongly on funding from federal Medicaid, which already started to close their doors on services except to vulnerable of clients. The county’s funding allocation targets to offset these effects, to make sure needed services are available for those who needs them in county urgent care clinics.
Some county officials, meanwhile contend that Northern Lakes Community Mental Health is not meeting standards in mental health services in jails if compared to any urgent care clinic, forcing Traverse County to find partners in the form of third-party organizations namely Nexus Family Services.
The traverse County board will review the contract to renew outlines that define the services Nexus Family Services will provide, which is a total of two sessions with two hours duration each that focuses on substance abuse and also life skills education per week with a weekly cost amounting to $380.
Lemcool also stated that he has no idea whether the county really can afford such funding and if it can really be achieved or not. Inmates and county residents that do need to find an urgent care near me is certainly a priority, but the question is if the county has proper funding capabilities?
During a meeting last September, Commissioner Addison Wheelock stated that the county can afford 2 health providers working for 40 hours every week about 15 years ago, but now the county will be lucky if it can afford 1 individual with 20 hours of work every week.
Wheelock added that the main problem stems from unspecified nature within the county’s agreement details with Northern Lakes that does not specify in detail exact mental health services the county will expect to receive.
