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Changes and reductions in Health and Human Services money streams have left the county's HHS Director scrambling to fill service gaps and set up new ways to deliver programs.

Providing transportation for people with serious and persistent mental illness was discussed at length during last week's County Board meeting of the HHS committee of the whole.

Mary Sheehan, HHS Director, told the County Board she had only five weeks' notice of the loss of funding for the MN Net program that coordinates SPMI transportation needs in this county. "That's not a whole lot of time to develop a new system," Sheehan added.

The Anoka County HHS Director contacted Chisago and surrounding counties' directors, and a short-term solution has been cobbled together sharing costs of continuing the transportation program amongst several counties.

For now, Sheehan said, this looks to be most cost-effective. During a transport trial period hopefully some of the issues surrounding providing this service for "our most vulnerable adults" can be answered.

Isanti County Board has adopted this approach, Washington County was to meet July 30. Sheehan told the Board the program as it exists will expire July 1, so Chisago County action needed to come last week.

Commissioner George McMahon said he was most concerned there be no loss of services for this population, but he also wondered why the legislature saw fit to eliminate MN Net funding and wondered what the theory was behind this.

Heartland Express will step up and provide the transit services which Sheehan estimated will cost the county $28,000 of which half should be reimbursed through federal funding streams.

If this multi-county approach using Heartland equipment wasn't approved; Sheehan said her alternative is to hire "more staff" to handle tasks that MN Net used to take care of, such as assessing riders' mental illness levels, incomes and scheduling.

Commissioners had reservations about taking over what used to be a state program and questioned if there's a "mandate" to provide this level of service.

County Commissioner Mike Robinson also said he wanted to hear from representatives of other transit companies-- who were seated in the audience but not recognized to comment.

Chair Ben Montzka stated the agenda didn't notice this item as a "public hearing" although he said "I'd like to understand this more" referencing the private sector's perceived lack of opportunity to be part of providing this service.

Sheehan said she only wanted permission to proceed for six months with Heartland, declaring "I am not asking for too much I don't think."

She anticipates, "...there will be robust discussion later...the way this happened at the legislature left a lot of questions."

Jackie Forner, Heartland Express Director, said the Public Transit Association should review issues raised by the providers from the private sector and she'd like the chance to take this to an association meeting.

The vote ended up 4-1 (Robinson opposed) moving ahead on the recommendation for a six month interim system and directing Sheehan to report back.

There's also been reductions in Targeted Case Management funding and service levels. The "mental health redesign" Sheehan said the state developed becomes effective July 1.

Sheehan said the east central Minnesota region's HHS directors went together and contacted four insurers. U-Care was the only one willing to contract region-wide and offer mental health care at a reasonable per person case cost. That contract was adopted by the Board last week.

Sheehan said, "Every day that goes by (without a provider plan) the county taxpayers are subsidizing managed care and I don't feel that's the role of the taxpayer."

In other business the Board scheduled a "town hall" meeting with supervisors and anyone else interested in attending at Nessel Township Hall. This special meeting is Tuesday, July 14, beginning at 7:15. The town hall is at 49205 Acacia Trail in Stanchfield.

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