Title
CONSIDERATION OF A SUNFLOWER FOUNDATION GRANT IN THE AMOUNT OF $183,508 FOR THE SUPPORT OF A REDESIGN OF SEDGWICK COUNTY'S BEHAVIORAL HEALTH CARE SYSTEM.
Presented by: Joan M. Tammany, LMLP, COMCARE Executive Director.
RECOMMENDED ACTION: Approve the grant award, authorize the Chairman to sign, and the establishment of budget authority as provided in the Financial Considerations section of this request.
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Grant Renewal: No.
Never Applied: Yes.
Applied; not awarded: No.
Grant Summary and Timeline: Currently there are several community leaders participating in multiple community collaborations around persons with behavioral health needs that are over-represented in the emergency rooms, police encounters, and jail/detention centers and are frequent users of services provided at the Community Crisis Center. Sedgwick County has representation on these collaborations, including; COMCARE staff, County Manager's Office staff, the Board of County Commissioners, Sheriff's Office, and the Health Division. While these groups share a value of better coordination for the high utilizer group, a formal and strategic community plan has yet to fully develop from these efforts.
High utilizers of care not only have complex mental health issues and medical conditions, often they have complex psychosocial needs. Many have unstable housing and inadequate social support which leads to frequent emergency and crisis services on a routine basis. As a result, overuse of care leads to "care fatigue" by the systems begin utilized.
This funding provides an opportunity to hire a Community Coordinator whose job will be to convene regular meetings of an array of stakeholders. These meetings will include medical and behavioral providers, law enforcement, local school districts, and the court system. This employee will help facilitate discussions, research grant opportunities, and maintain documentation of the group's efforts.
Financial Considerations:
Grant perio...
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