The State of Iowa is preparing to implement behavioral health districts as part of mental health reform efforts. Beginning July 1st, there will be 7 behavioral health districts in the state. Central Iowa Community Services, or CICS, will be going from a 24-million dollar budget to a 4-million dollar budget, and going from 15 to 44 counties, with the disability service contract for three regions across the state. Monday CICS CEO Russell Wood met with the Franklin County Board of Supervisors about the pending changes, and told the board he wants their corporate office to be in Hampton.
“I want that building to be our corporate office. Franklin County is the employer of record currently. We’d like you to continue to do that. We’d like you be the fiscal agent. It makes sense for us to be here. So I’d like to continue that.”
Wood was asked if this latest effort by the state on mental health reform will be around for a while.
“Is there a possibility that we might cover different areas? I think that’s a possibility. When I came over to Franklin County, it was just Franklin County. And then we became a part of the region, but we were still kind of almost like a confederacy, not a union. Then we were still, okay, we’re all together, but nobody’s really in charge. And now we really are a region and there’s no one that’s currently on the board that was around when we were all individual counties.”
The Franklin supervisors did give directions on several topics including rent and leases at the Community Resource Center, employer of record agreement, fiscal agent agreement, employee transitions, and IT Support.
