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Cumberland County officials fear 'catastrophic' results from lack of mental health funding

The Sentinel - 3/10/2023

Mar. 9—Commissioner Jean Foschi expressed outrage Wednesday that years of flat funding by the state has put Cumberland County in a crisis mode with a projected $2.5 million deficit in its mental health system budget.

"We are an instrument, sometimes unfortunately, of state government," she said. "This is not one of the things where we should be saying 'You can't have that.'"

She was responding to news by county Mental Health Director Annie Strite that the lack of sustainable state funds combined with increased costs of providing services may force the commissioners to authorize program cuts to balance the budget.

"This is very disconcerting," Foschi said. "One of the things we do in this county is to serve people. A lack of service to so many people I think would be catastrophic. I call this a legacy issue. We need to have a conversation with our state delegation."

During a finance meeting Wednesday, Strite outlined a multistep strategy to mitigate as much as possible the impact of a fiscal crisis that already undercuts the efficiency of programs, stretches staff to the limit and has a negative ripple effect on such other county departments as the prison, public safety, juvenile program and Children & Youth Services.

"We have been talking about struggling to meet the needs of our community and dealing with very tight funding," Strite said. "This year, we are facing the biggest proposed deficit that we've ever seen. We believe that, by the end of the fiscal year on June 30, we will have a deficit of $2.5 million."

Strite said the mental health department has formed a stakeholder group of service providers and recipients tasked with taking a close look at the budget in the lead-up to preparing recommendations for county commissioners to consider.

The department plans to hold town hall meetings to gather input from residents, Strite said. "We are interested in hearing success stories from people who are happy about the service, as well as people who struggle and some of the barriers because, ultimately, that's what gets people's attention.

"We are reaching out to state-level decision makers," she said. "Our hope is to meet with local legislators to talk to them about the needs in our community. We have people willing to share their stories about the struggles they are experiencing."

The result will likely be a follow-up meeting with the commissioners timed in such a way that the department could notify service providers in advance of potential program cuts.

Strite drew support Wednesday from other county departments struggling with the ripple effect of the strain on service availability.

Necole McElwee, administrator of county Children & Youth Services, said fiscal pressures on the mental health department have made it difficult for families to access the help they need. As a result, there has been an increase in the caseload referred to her agency.

Director of Public Safety Bob Shively said his department tracks the number of 911 calls that are tied to mental health issues. "We are seeing about a 30% increase over the last three to four years," he told commissioners.

Travis Shenk, warden of the Cumberland County Prison, said that as part of the intake process, each inmate undergoes a medical assessment that includes a mental health evaluation. In recent years, the prison has seen an increase in the percent of inmates with serious mental health issues.

In making its case, Cumberland County needs to spell out to state officials the full impact that level funding is having on services, Foschi said.

On Tuesday, Gov. Josh Shapiro presented his first state budget outlining a number of proposals that include $20 million more in mental health funding to Pennsylvania's 67 counties.

"Under the current formula, it doesn't sound like a lot," Cumberland County Commissioner Vince DiFilippo said Wednesday. "I would agree," Strite said, adding that, in 2022, then-Gov. Tom Wolf proposed a $36 million increase that ultimately fell through.

Commissioner Gary Eichelberger expressed appreciation for all the staff involved in meeting the challenge. "Everybody is to be commended for their all-hands-on-board approach to dealing with what amounts to be a crisis," he said.

Eichelberger referred to a Pennsylvania map that shows that while some counties to the north and west are losing population, other counties to the south and east are growing in population. The map indicated that the growth rate for Cumberland County is about 10.2%, making it the fastest growing county in the state.

"It's a fundamental question of what is their fair share," Eichelberger said, describing issues he has with the state formula used to distribute mental health funds to counties.

"Why don't we have a flexible system that allows money to flow to where the need is?" Eichelberger asked Strite, who agreed with him.

"We believe the formula needs to be reassessed and reevaluated simply because we don't think it has been looked at for many years," Strite said.

Joseph Cress is a reporter for The Sentinel covering education and history. You can reach him at jcress@cumberlink.com or by calling 717-218-0022.

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