Community Mental Health
For Immediate Release
September 24, 2002
For Additional Information Contact:
Richard Evans
(616) 336-3765
Kent CMH Board Approves Contracts With 29 Local Agencies to Provide Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services
Kent County -- The Kent County Community Mental Health (CMH) Services Board approved nearly 100 contracts with 29 local human services agencies and individual therapists to provide mental health and substance abuse services to over 13,500 persons living in Kent County.
Paul Ippel, Executive Director of Kent CMH, states that the need for mental health and substance abuse services continues to grow in our community. "Kent County has a wonderful resource in our social service agencies that work collaboratively with Kent CMH and other governmental units to insure that the needs of our children, young adults, families, and seniors are met. Our community is a better place for all of us to live when we collectively meet the mental health and substance abuse needs of our community. While we expect to spend almost 90 million dollars on mental health and substance abuse services in the coming year, we need to continue to encourage individuals, community groups, and the faith community to reach out to persons with special needs in our community."
Approval of these two-year contracts allows the Kent CMH Network of Care to provide a broad range of services and supports, including:
- Casemanagement / Supports & Service Coordination
- Crisis Intervention
- Residential
- Vocational
- Skill Building
- Respite Care
- Outpatient Care
- Inpatient Care
- Home Based Care
- Individual and Group Therapy
- Detoxification
- Services in the jail
Three months ago, Kent CMH received official word from the Michigan Department of Community Health (DCH) that it would be awarded the local contract to provide Medicaid managed care for specialty mental health, substance abuse and developmental disability services.
Founded in 1966, Kent County CMH continues to serve adults with serious and persistent mental illness, children with emotional disturbance, individuals who are developmentally disabled, and people who struggle with substance abuse. In FY2001 Kent County CMH provided mental health and substance abuse services to more than 13,000 individuals.
