Expanded mental health services go beyond crisis response

Washtenaw County Community Mental Health

Washtenaw County Community Mental Health at the Human Services Center, 555 Towner St., Ypsilanti, Mich., on April 1, 2019.Lauren Slagter | MLive

ANN ARBOR, MI – Mental health program expansion, data analysis and awareness programs were launched this year from funding through Washtenaw County Mental Health and Public Safety Preservation Millage.

Voters in 2017 approved a 1-mill tax for public safety and mental health in the county. The tax was first levied in December 2018 and is expected to raise about $15.4 million in its first year, with $6 million set aside for Washtenaw County Community Mental Health.

The department responded to 800 more crisis service requests in the first six months of the tax-funded expansions, compared to the same time frame last year, officials said in an email update.

Community Mental Health aims to provide mental health services to anyone in the county regardless of severity, age and funding source, said Lisa Gentz, who oversees millage programs for Community Mental Health. The millage addresses crises response, stabilization, jail services and prevention tactics.

CARES, or Crisis, Access, Resources, Engagement and Support, services used to be limited to treatment for people with Medicaid. New funding expanded them beyond crisis management to include helping find housing, providing transportation to Alcoholics Anonymous meetings, connecting opioid-dependent clients with medication-assisted treatment and more, according to Community Mental Health.

“The millage is really focusing on how to fill in gaps and create community partnerships that help really create a safety net for all of our residents in Washtenaw county,” Gentz said.

For example, a teacher may notice a student showing signs of a mental health crisis and be able to appropriately guide them to the service needed. Community Mental Health coordinators are defining the network for all residents and caregivers to have better access.

The long-term goal of the millage is “systems alignment”: extending the networks so anyone in the community can be directed to the right service needed for treatment, director Trish Cortes said. By monitoring service usage, Community Mental Health can expand where services are needed more.

“We’re really trying to utilize informed data-driven decision-making to implement programs that will be effective for our community," Cortes said.

The first six months of the new revenue have addressed service gaps in high-risk communities and rural parts of the county, officials said. Though much of the work has come through the CARES Team, other programs address the goals of the millage.

Here are some of the other projects launched since January:

  • Rural service expansion through psychiatry, nursing, private and group therapy, case management and more,
  • Youth anti-stigma campaigns through public service announcements on social media, billboards, murals and other messaging platforms,
  • “UMatter Week” grants to support student-led campaigns in the Washtenaw Intermediary School District focused on culture shifts,
  • Law Enforcement crisis management training,
  • Jail-based service expansions such as medication-assisted treatment for opioid addictions and data-monitoring to understand who is screened for mental and behavioral health issues in the jail population,
  • Health system partner coordination,

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