McHenry County Blog

I’ve been to one meeting of the McHenry County Mental Health Board.

That’s the taxing district most call the 708 Board.

As I sat in the audience, one member didn’t “go with the flow.”

That was Connee Meschini.

She asked questions.

Now, the McHenry County Board’s Public Health Committee has recommended that she be appointed to the one-year term that is open.

At the conclusion of the last meeting, the Committee had tied on whether Meschini or former County Board member Mary Donner, who served on the 708 Board as liaison to the County Board should get the appointment. The decision was made to wait for John Hammerand to return before making a selection.

With the full seven person complement in attendance members Mary McCann and Anna May Miller advanced the name of Lee Ellis, the current 708 Board Chairman, for the one-year term.

That was shot down on a 5-2 vote with Donna Kurtz, John Hammerand, Sandy Salgado, Mike Walkup and Paula Yensen against him.

Next came a motion by Walkup to appoint Meschini. The vote on that was 4 to 3 in favor with McCann, Miller and Yensen voting in the negative.

The four-year selections made at the meeting without notice to the public that action would be taken were confirmed by the Committee:

For the four-year terms the following were recommended:

• Carrie Smith
• Robert Routzahn
• Heather Murgatoyd

Since state law says that the County Board Chairman makes the appointments, Tina Hill could substitute another name for one of Committee’s selections.

That would result in a floor fight that might define Hill’s term of office.

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A correction has been made regarding the selection of Connee Meschini.

A press release from the 708 Mental Health Board:

Mental Health Board postpones selection of executive director

Current McHenry County Mental Health Board (MCMHB) President Lee Ellis deferred the final selection process for choosing an executive director to allow soon to be appointed Board members to familiarize themselves with the mission and operations of the MCMHB and to provide their input on the final choice.

“I personally believe that it is essential for the partially newly constituted Board to be familiar with the operations of the MCMHB before proceeding with the interview process,” Ellis said.

Ellis, who is also chairman of the MCMHB Search Committee, believes it is essential for new Board members to understand their obligations and roles to intelligently develop their independent expectations regarding choice of an executive director.

For this reason, Ellis cancelled plans for the final interviews for choosing an executive director scheduled for March 5, 2013. Instead, he is calling a Search Committee meeting immediately following the regularly scheduled meeting of the Mental Health Board at 6 p.m. on Feb. 26, 2013 to discuss reevaluation of the timeline for final interviews.

The MCMHB appointed Todd Schroll as interim executive director until a national search for a replacement for former Executive Director Sandy Lewis is completed. Lewis left her position in November to take the position of assistant professor of psychiatry and the director of the Virginia Treatment Center for Children.

The Public Health and Human Services (PHHS) Committee of the McHenry County Board recently interviewed and recommended candidates for four open seats on the MCMHB. County Board Chair Tina Hill delayed the vote to approve the recommendations due to a glitch involving compliance with the Open Meetings Act.

As a result, it is anticipated that the PHHS committee will meet again on Feb. 27, 2013 at 8:30 a.m. to make its recommendations to the McHenry County Board, which will meet on March 5, 2013 at 9 a.m. At this time it is further anticipated that the McHenry County Board will complete its appointments to the four open seats on the MCMHB.

Lee Ellis, the Chairman of the McHenry County Mental Health Board, was not recommended for re-appointment by the newly-reconstituted Public Health and Human Services Committee.

Hearings have been held yesterday and today with applicants presenting their credentials and answering questions from the six committee members present.

After the interviews by the five women and one man were completed, members wrote down the names of their favorites for three four-year and one one-year term.

The following names were written on a white board:

• Carrie Smith
• Mary Donner
• Lee Ellis
• Bernadette May
• Heather Murgatoyd
• Rob Rontzahn
• Scott Summers
• Connie Meschini

Because Smith, the pastor at Crystal Lake’s Bethany Lutheran Church got four of the six votes, she was selected for one of the three four-year terms.

In a second round of voting, the committee singled out as finalists for the one-year term

• Donner, who was defeated for re-election to the County Board in last spring’s Republican primary election works for Pace and has been the liaison to the County Board from the 708 Board
• Meschini, also on the current Board

Finalists for the two remaining four-year terms were determined after another round of balloting.

Ellis and May got no votes that time around, leaving

• Murgatoyd
• Rontzahn
• Summers

In the fourth round, Mufgatoyd and Rontzahn emerged victorious.

That left the question of who was going to be recommended for the one-year term, Donner or Meschini.

The committee members split evenly with Mary McCann, Anna May Miller and Paula Yensen backing Donner and Committee leader Donna Kurtz, Sandy Salgado and Mike Walkup backing Meschini.

To break the tie, Committee members decided to await the return of the seventh member, John Hammerand.

Asked after the meeting if she expected any problem getting her the Public Health Committee’s recommendations approved by the full County Board, Kurtz replied, “No.  I think people will respect the balanced view of this Committee.  These are all qualified people and they have been thoroughly vetted.”

Rontzahn works for IBM out of his home office and serves on both the Crystal Lake District 47 Grade School Board and the County Housing Authority.

Murgatoyd is a clinical specialist (social worker) for DeVilbiss Health Care.

 

A press release from the McHenry County 708 Board:

Rebuttal to “Mental Health Board’s way at stake”

By Lee Ellis, president of the McHenry County Mental Health Board

January 28, 2013

The McHenry County Mental Health Board (MHB) deems it necessary to clarify information and correct inaccuracies presented in the article “Mental Health Board’s way at stake” by Kevin Craver published on the front page of the Northwest Herald on Jan. 24, 2013, and in the Northwest Herald’s “Our View” editorial on Jan. 27, 2013.

Both of these pieces fuel ongoing misperceptions regarding how the MHB manages taxpayer dollars designated for the treatment of

• mental illness,
• developmental disabilities,
• chemical abuse, and
• traumatic brain injury

At a time when social services are deeply affected by cutbacks and late payments by the state, our community needs to work together to meet the needs of our citizens.

Effective collaborations benefit the people we serve, and effective collaborations can only begin with an understanding of the facts.

The MHB has dealt with differing opinions on how to manage tax dollars designated for the mental health fund since the people of McHenry County voted to establish a 708 Board, or Mental Health Board, in 1967.

The Board frames its decisions on management of taxpayer dollars based on its mission and by the mandates of the Illinois Community Mental Health Act.

The mission and mandates require the MHB to provide leadership in planning, coordinating, developing, and contracting for quality services for our citizens.

Transparency of MHB governance is an issue that comes up repeatedly. All MHB meetings are open to the public, and public comment is welcomed at each meeting. Meeting agendas are posted on McHenry County and MHB websites, and on the bulletin board just outside the main entrance to the MHB building. All MHB meeting minutes are available on the McHenry County Government website. The MHB also facilitates meetings of provider agencies monthly to share information and concerns.

Members of the community are welcome to contact the MHB at any time for clarification of any MHB related business.

Discussion of allocation of taxpayer dollars designated for the mental health fund in Craver’s article is sketchy and presents an inaccurate picture.

He notes that a Jan. 13 financial report shows that of the $13.1 million in revenue from taxes, $8.7 million is designated for use by community social services agencies, and that the MHB keeps “more than $4.4 million for itself.”

Craver does not explain that this $4.4 million includes funds for

• facilitation of community supports for family centered programs such as WRAPAROUND and
• Screening Assessment and Support Services (SASS).

This part of the budget also includes funding for

• psychological evaluations,
• mentoring, and
• medication support, as well as for
• the CareTrak program and
• client transportation.

It also includes scholarships for

• consumers and
• staff of funded agencies so they can attend trainings and conferences related to mental health.

Costs for management of clinical records of former clients of Family Services and Community Mental Health Center fall under this category.

It additionally includes MHB support of coordination programs such as Individual Care Grants, which are required as part of the SASS program, and support of Crisis Services.

All of these programs, and others, comprise a significant portion of the $4.4 million which Craver attributes to MHB administration.

Craver’s article also references criticisms of the MHB’s decision on the building expansion project.

The MHB used funds made available through the Americans Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 for the capital costs.

These funds could only be used for capital projects and were not available to providers for services.

The now completed expansion provides rent-free space for several consumer-operated community organizations and groups.

Just one example is the McHenry County McCap program, which serves young adults with special needs; McCap uses two conference rooms Monday through Friday.

Another inaccuracy in Craver’s article references a contract with Virginia Commonwealth University to pay former Executive Director Sandy Lewis $150 per hour for consultation services. Craver obtained this

This proposed contract was never fully negotiated and was never signed by either the MHB or by Virginia Commonwealth
University.

The MHB previously advised the Northwest Herald on Nov. 27, 2012 in a Freedom of Information Act response to Sarah Sutschek of the Northwest Herald that “…there are no ‘Independent Contractor Agreements with Virginia Commonwealth University’ that have been entered into by or on behalf of the McHenry County Mental Health Board.”

Critics question funding of the former MHB Executive Director Sandy Lewis’ doctorial studies.

The MHB negotiated tuition costs with Dr. Lewis to promote continuing education and quality leadership development on behalf of the MHB, and it benefited throughout the education process.

The Board is currently reevaluating its policies on education benefits.

The MHB is guided by a volunteer board of eight community members who are appointed by the County Board, and one County Government  liaison. Its yearly budget is reviewed and appropriated by the McHenry County Board each year.  Additionally, MHB staff meets regularly with the Public Health and Human Services committee.

Furthermore, the MHB is CARF accredited, which is earned through a rigorous peer review process to ensure commitment to programs and services that are measurable, accountable, and of the highest quality. CARF is an independent, nonprofit accrediting body whose mission is to promote the quality, value and optimal outcomes of services through a consultative accreditation process that centers on enhancing the lives of the persons serviced.

The size of the MHB staff is frequently questioned by critics.

It is important to note that mental health boards across the state are very different in size, scope, and levy.

MHB staff size is driven by the community development required to effectively and efficiently support a community behavioral health system that serves the citizens of McHenry County.

Accountability and compliance to the rules and regulations of federal and state contracts are another factor.

Questions from the community are always welcome. The next meeting of the MentalHealth Board is scheduled for Tuesday, February 26, 2013 at 6 p.m. at 620 Dakota Street inCrystal Lake. For information call the MHB at 815-455-2828, or check out the MHB website: www.mc708.org.