County Reps Receive Briefing on Community Services Network
By MONICA CALZOLARI
COOPERSTOWN
Serving the mental health needs of Otsego County requires intricate collaboration with a complicated network of service providers at the local, county and state level.
“It is not a quick fix,” said Marion Mossman, volunteer chairperson of the county’s Community Services Board, effective January 1. “We know today that we have a lot of issues that we did not have 20 years ago.”
In a special presentation to the Otsego County Board of Representatives on Wednesday, April 2, at the monthly meeting in Cooperstown, Mossman explained the role of the CSB, state agencies and funding sources that support community services in Otsego County.
The New York State Conference of Local Mental Hygiene Directors is a statewide membership organization. Otsego County is one of 57 counties represented by the conference. Each county has a director of community services. Jeannette Pavlus is Otsego County’s director.
According to the CLMHD website, at the local level, Pavlus is the “Local Governmental Unit with the responsibility for oversight and cross-system management of the local mental hygiene system.” The county works with three agencies at the state level: the Office of Mental Health, the Office of Addiction Services and Supports, and the Office for People with Developmental Disabilities.
“The Director of Community Services, Mrs. Pavlus, has the information and the obligation to network with every single entity in Otsego [County],” Mossman explained.
The list of service providers is long. It includes hospitals and their emergency departments, state-operated psychiatric centers, addiction treatment centers, the Department of Social Services, public health departments, housing and shelter services, prisons, jails, probation/parole, police, sheriffs, and family and criminal courts.
“We are very proud of our long-standing history of collaboration to effectively serve those in need,” Mossman said. “Partnership makes a big difference.”
“This is the first and only time in my recollection in the past 13-14 years that we ever received a presentation by Community Services,” Edwin Frazier Jr., Board of Representatives chair, commented.
Mossman said she moved to this area in 1978 at age 18 to attend Hartwick College. She said she liked the county so much, she decided to stay and make it her home. This is Mossman’s second stint as chair of the Community Services Board. Her first period of service lasted 10 years.
Describing the members of the CSB, Mossman said, “We have longevity. It brings perspective, compassion and relationships.”
Mossman said the Community Services Board “serves in an advisory role.” It is comprised of up to 15 members. One must be a doctor, she said. Dr. Celeste Johns, chief of psychiatry at Bassett Healthcare Network for 32 years, is on the Community Services Board. She now works for Fidelis Care. Mossman replaced Julie Dostal as CSB chair earlier this year.
Opioid Settlement Awarded Locally
Later in the meeting, the Board of Representatives passed a motion on Resolution 187 to award monies Otsego County received based upon a court-ordered settlement with several pharmaceutical companies who produced and marketed opioids.
The Otsego County Task Force reviewed requests for these settlement funds and identified four projects that qualified. The board awarded opioid settlement money to the following organizations:
The LEAF Council on Alcoholism and Addictions will receive $300,000.00 over three years and $100,000.00 in year one to support and enhance substance-use prevention and education at the Oneonta Teen Center.
Friends of Recovery Dedicated to Others will receive $242,650.00 over three years and $116,150.00 in year one for its Peer Recovery WarmLine, youth clubhouse programming, and transportation services.
Trellis Marketing in Buffalo will receive $165,000.00 over a course of three years, or $55,000.00 per year, to run public service announcements.
Mohawk Valley Behavioral Health IPA will receive $311,643.00 over the course of three years and $138,699.00 in year one to create a comprehensive data dashboard.
“What drives outcomes is good data,” said Mossman, who is the organization’s executive director. “We don’t have the data yet.”
Some of the opioid settlement money awarded will help with data accumulation for the dashboard.
Meg Kennedy, vice chair of the Board of Representatives and representative for District 5 (Hartwick, Milford and New Lisbon), thanked Mossman for everything the CSB does for the county.
“Where can we help the most?” Kennedy asked.
“Collaboration and communications and ongoing work with Ms. Martini,” Mossman replied.
Adrienne Martini, District 12 (Oneonta City Wards 3 and 4) is the county board liaison to Community Services.
Mossman said that delivering cost-effective systems of care locally while working in partnership with the New York State mental hygiene agencies is challenging.
“It has to happen within budgets, which we know is difficult,” she said.
According to Mossman, Richfield Springs and New Lisbon are not adequately served.
Transportation and housing in rural upstate New York are problems with no easy solutions. A shortage of transportation for Medicaid recipients is particularly challenging during high tourist season, Mossman said.
Transportation companies choose to service the highest bidders, she explained.