County preserving mental health services for now

Despite an immediate $20,622 cut in state funding, Wahkiakum County will be able to preserve its mental health programs at least through September.

Two weeks ago, Timberlands Regional Support Network, which distributed state and federal mental health funds in Wahkiakum, Pacific and Lewis counties, notified mental health program administrators that the state of Washington had ordered an immediate reduction in spending for mental health programs.

Timberlands' announcement suggested that counties might have to cut services to the level of only crisis care.

Health and Human Services Department Administrators on Tuesday presented a plan to the county board of commissioners that would redirect funding for staff wages into the program to preserve services through September, when contracts administered by Timberlands expire.

Department Administrator Judy Bright and mental health program coordinator Chris Holmes said the programs could be preserved by reducing spending and redirecting state "Worker Wage" funding for mental health personnel into the overall program. Holmes said the Worker Wage funds were a one-time appropriation to boost wages of mental health workers.

Commissioners Blair Brady and Lisa Marsyla approved the plan. Commissioner Dan Cothren had gone to Olympia to testify before the legislature and was absent.

"We hope to be able to maintain the current level of service for our current clients," Bright said.

She and Holmes plan to fill a vacancy on the staff.

"We're stretched when it comes to crisis response," she said.

She added that programs and staff levels will have to be evaluated at the end of summer when the current contracts expire. If the state and federal appropriations continue to be cut, the local mental health programs will have to be cut.

In other business, Bright and environmental health specialists asked the commissioners to consider and comment on the health department's policies for designing septic sewer systems.

The county now contracts with environmental health specialists from the Clark County Health Department for sanitary sewer system permitting. Bright said the specialists have realized that the county policies have allowed people whose property qualifies for a simple passive or gravity septic system to obtain a permit with design specifications coming from the health officer.

The consultants said they're not used to doing that, but they could work with Bright and the commissioners to set up a policy that would meet state codes.

Bright said that with the county essentially doing the designs, the county assumes an enormous responsibility. Bright said the department could set up a procedure that would ensure homeowners have adequate knowledge to make the designs, and they would have to pay adequate fees to cover handling of the permits.

"I would like to take this under advisement," Brady said. "I want to ensure that the basic layman can understand the legalities and accomplish the design on their own."

"We'll work up a plan for people to design their own systems," Bright said.

People needing permits for complicated systems that might be found in lowlands have to have an engineer designed system. The passive systems would be for systems in drier soils that can work with a traditional septic system.