As of July 1, Wright County is now a member of a new mental health region. Iowa is divided into 14 of these regions that provide locally delivered services that are regionally managed according to statewide standards. These regions work with people experiencing brain health struggles and intellectual or other developmental disabilities. At the beginning of the month, Wright County became one of four new counties to join the Central Iowa Community Services (CICS) region.
Until this month, Wright County was a member of the County Social Services (CSS) region. However, last year when Cerro Gordo County decided to leave the CSS region, Wright County was left cut off from the rest of the region. By law, counties must be contiguous with their region. This made it necessary for Wright County to find a new mental health home.
After research and contemplation, the county Board of Supervisors, under the advice of county social services employees Jen Sheehan and Lisa Leanhart, decided to move to the CICS region. Sheehan, Director of Wright County Social Services, explained that changing regions would not lead to patients having to change providers or changes in services.
Supervisor Karl Helgevold, who will be sitting on the board for the CICS region, added that Wright County patients will still see seamless services with no differences in requirements. He is also pleased to note that the local office and employees were retained.
Russell Wood, CICS CEO, was also happy to welcome Wright County aboard. “We’re pleased to expand our services to Wright County,” said Wood. “The counties recently added to CICS were looking at opportunities to increase access and availability to certain types of services, including crisis response services. The structure and stability of our organization allow for those services to be supported and successfully executed while ensuring a smooth transition for individuals who are currently utilizing services in these counties.”
Regarding those services, Sheehan added that she is excited about the addition of mobile crisis services. Mobile Crisis Response is a service that provide a team of professionals that can provide on-site, face-to-face mental health services for an individual or family experiencing a mental health crisis. They can respond wherever the crisis is occurring—in an individual’s home, the community, or other locations where an individual lives, works, attends school, or socializes. To access mobile crisis response, call the Your Life Iowa Hotline at 855-581-8111 and let them know you would like to have the mobile crisis team respond in person. Sheehan said you can also text 855-895-8398.
Overall, Sheehan and Leanhart are pleased with the move to CICS. “Geographically, the region flows well for services and still provides accessibility for Wright County users. It lines up to where people are migrating to anyway,” they noted.
CICS also recently added Cerro Gordo, Hancock, and Webster counties. The region now serves 15 counties, which also include Boone, Franklin, Greene, Hamilton, Hardin, Jasper, Madison, Marshall, Poweshiek, Story, and Warren.
As the county looks forward at mental health, Helgevold noted that more changes are coming down the pike. At the end of the last session, legislation was passed that included measures to shift funding of the state’s mental health regions from county property tax levies to the state’s general fund over a two-year transition. Helgevold, like many, are concerned about how this will all look when the dust settles. Only time will tell.
If you’re interested in more information about the county’s mental health services, you can call 515-532-3309 or visit their office in the Wright County Resource Center 120 1st Ave. NW, Suite #1 in Clarion.
