Our Voice: Joint effort needed for mental health services

When it comes to the future of mental health care in the Tri-Cities, Franklin County commissioners recently took an encouraging step.

They directed their county administrator to work with Benton County and form a group of providers, patients and patients’ families whose input could help determine how best to provide mental health services in the region.

This is welcome progress, and we hope the group can assemble soon.

Both counties offer mental health care through the human services department, which is a bicounty agency. Benton County officials have been considering the idea of privatizing mental health services for months, and recently listened to county officials from Yakima and Walla Walla where privatization has worked well.

Franklin County commissioners, however, have shown hesitancy in going in this direction. But at least they are showing a willingness to meet with Benton County and gather more information.

It is critical the two counties work together on this issue.

People who require mental health services need a system that is comprehensive and easy to navigate; not a spotty approach that is inconsistent. Mental health emergencies do not stop at a bridge, and the two counties can offer a much better system together than separately.

And with a new state program on the horizon, it is even more imperative that Benton and Franklin county officials develop a new mental health system as quickly as possible.

The state assigned the management of outpatient mental health services to the counties a couple of decades ago. Over the years, improvements to the system have been needed and now one big change is on the way.

In 2014 the state Legislature passed a bill that forms regionally operated Behavioral Health Organizations, which will administer mental health and substance abuse services under one umbrella.

Currently, the two services have been paid for and managed separately, but mental health officials know that the two conditions are often related. This is a better approach and helps the whole person. Financially, it also makes for a more efficient system.

But this means the counties must get cracking to develop their own design and figure out how they are going to work with the new system. The state change is set to take place starting next April.

If Benton and Franklin County officials don’t figure out how human services will operate soon, they may lose control when the state moves in with its integrated system.

Getting a group of stakeholders together to gather information is a good step, but it will need to eventually lead to a joint decision.

If it doesn’t, county officials will have let their community down.

This story was originally published November 7, 2015 at 3:58 PM with the headline "Our Voice: Joint effort needed for mental health services."