OLATHE, Kan. —The Johnson County Mental Health Center (JCMHC) will soon bring on 21 new full-time employees in an effort to reduce the caseload for current case managers.
On Dec. 15, the Johnson County Board of Commissioners (BOCC) voted unanimously to allocate $2.1 million in reserves to hire additional staff for the center.
According to county documents, additional property taxes will not be needed to support the additional staff. Instead, the positions will be funded through Medicaid contract revenue negotiated between the county mental health center and the state.
“Mental health is an important Johnson County public service. Our mental health staff is stretched to the limit as demand for mental health services increases. Our Mental Health Center needs this staffing assistance to expand its support in providing important mental health programs that directly assist individuals and families in high need and strengthen the mental health well-being of our community,” said the mayor. of BOCC Ed Eilert.
Mental Health Center Director Tim DeWeese said the additional staff will help make current caseloads more manageable.
The center is currently exceeding benchmark case rates per case manager with approximately 273 clients for adult services and 50 clients for child and family services.
“If you have a lower workload for your employees, then they can provide higher quality services, more intensive services, so you should also see a decrease in crisis utilization,” DeWeese said. “You should see an increase in employment. You should see a decrease in hospitalization. You should see, from the children’s side, an increase in the functioning of the school.”
The additional staff will help maintain JCMHC’s designation as a Certified Community Behavioral Health Center.
