Mental-health groups feel pain, stress of cuts, layoffs

By William K. Alcorn

Allocation cuts to core agencies range from $29,500 to $576,794.

YOUNGSTOWN — State funding cuts have forced county mental- health agencies to lay off employees and reduce services in the Valley.

The Mahoning County Mental Health Board, facing $3.1 million in cuts primarily from the Ohio Department of Mental Health, reduced allocations to its core agencies a combined $1,235,792 for fiscal year 2010 (July 1, 2009 to June 30, 2010) compared to fiscal year 2009.

The county health board received funding from federal, state and local levy sources totaling $14.09 million in fiscal 2009 compared to $10.98 million expected in fiscal 2010, a reduction of $3.1 million in its overall budget of $18.75 million, said Toni M. Notaro, administrative director.

The major revenue losses:

• $1.8 million reduction from the state mental health department used primarily by the Mahoning board as a local Medicaid match.

• $700,000 cut from the state primarily used to pay for hospital beds at state facilities and for local services.

• $600,000 cut in federal and state grants and miscellaneous funding.

As a result, the board approved allocation cuts to agencies for fiscal 2010 ranging from $29,500 to Family Services Agency to $576,794 for Turning Point Counseling Services.

Turning Point laid off eight to 10 counselors, said Ronald Marian, mental health board executive director, who says the state is not doing its job in providing funding for county mental health boards in the state.

“The state and the governor have to understand that we can’t raise our rates,” Marian said. “The people we serve are on Medicaid or don’t have money to pay for services. We can’t get more money from Medicaid; the rates are fixed, and we can’t raise our rates. Our hands are tied.”

The state is trying to force the boards to go to county residents for more money, he added.

“We’re not going to do it, at least not until current levies are due to expire,” he said.

For now, expect waiting lines for service, Marian added.

Burdman Group, which operates residential and employment and intensive case-management facilities in Trumbull, where it also had its funding cut, and Mahoning counties, has laid off two people and has not filled three vacant positions, said Joseph Caruso, executive director.

In Mahoning, Burdman plans to consolidate two residential facilities into one, reducing its number of beds from 26 to 21, Caruso said.

In Trumbull, Burdman is closing a 12-bed residential facility for clients who are mentally ill with a substance-abuse disorder. Those clients won’t be served, he said.

Before this latest setback, Burdman had frozen employees’ pay, increased employee co-pays for health insurance and eliminated company contributions to employee pensions.

The D&E Counseling Center also has reduced services, including screening for postpartum depression, early-childhood developmental education and early-childhood caregiver education, said Greg Cvetkovic, executive director.

Cvetkovic said the number of schools into which the agency will offer its in-school depression and awareness education and suicide prevention program will be cut.

He said he has eliminated two positions and has not filled two others, reducing his staff by the equivalent of four full-time employees.

“We are still responding to the cuts; figuring out how to deal with these reductions and the new reality of an extended period of reduced funding that creates the least pain for clients and employees,” Cvetkovic said.

alcorn@vindy.com

Mahoning County Mental Health Board is dealing with $3.1 million in cuts in state and federal funding. Here are the fiscal year 2010 allocations and the reduction from fiscal year 2009 for the agencies.

Burdman Group: $932,850; reduction, $289,625.

D&E Counseling Center: $494,726; reduction, $253,867.

Family Services Agency: $60,000; reduction, $29,500.

Help Hotline Crisis Center: $830,590; reduction, $51,087.

Meridian Services: $93,700, reduction, $34,919.

Turning Point Counseling Services: $2,266,949, reduction, $576,794.

Source: Mahoning County Mental Health Board