DMH: SB 40's will take the fall

SB 40’s are being set up to take the fall for the Department of Mental Health/MRDD leadership… It is apparent that Senate Board 40’s across the state are as different as night and day from each other; being at different levels of maturity, quality and professionalism. At least with the eleven regional offices you get the same quality and consistency regardless of what the DMH leadership states. For example, Greene County Senate Board in Springfield, Missouri, is clearly not up to the challenges that Bernie Simons is pushing on them. They have, in the past few months, refused to take incoming new people wanting services; throwing it back to the Regional Office. They have limited the number of consumers that each of their service coordinators can take, to less than 35 persons, some in the 20’s. It is reported that they have only taken a fraction of over 250 or so consumers they are supposed to take for Greene County. And the service coordinators are required to log 120 hours of Targeted Case Management, which most State workers believe is impossible considering the case load number restrictions, actual working days of the month, etc… Someone may want to check that out? Anyway……………………. This is a two point issue: First, Mr. Shaefer, DMH Director, and Mr. Bernie Simons, MRDD Division Director; do not want the headaches of Habilitation Centers , by default Regional Centers and the focused, always watchful, St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Before 2006 there were 2 or so articles on DMH or the Mental Health Commission. From 2006-2007 over 36 articles, mostly unfavorable, were in print. Numerous people in the Division paid for this bad PR. A number of people were served up by the Administration for the bad press. Ask the previous Deputy Directors. As was noted on the DMH web page: “Dr. Constantino’s time on the Commission coincides with some of the most difficult and stressful periods in DMH’s history. Multiyear funding reductions and the gradual erosion of DMH administrative and clinical leadership impacted DMH’s ability to provide critically needed, high-quality mental health services to Missourians. Statewide concerns about the lack of client safety within DMH services, highlighted prominently by the media, further eroded DMH credibility.” I can just hear the Administration at the time, which actually was comprised of a couple members on the Mental Health Commission, DMH Director, Keith Schafer and in turn MRDD Director, Bernie Simons, let’s dump this thing!!! Privatize it! .............................. The second point/issue is the carrot which plays on greed. Without Targeted Case Management $$$$ there would be no SB 40 or private provider interest. When you wave $80-100,000.00 per service coordinator position and the Director of the Division is handing out what looks like candy, almost a dozen positions, the temptation is great! That could be anything from $800,000.00 to $1,000,000.00 per year for the SB 40s. Who can turn that down when the MRDD Director tells you to take it or someone else will get it! If not the SB 40’s then private agencies will take the candy. My question has been and continues to be; where is the consumer in this money grab? If you want interesting reading on this subject, please check out the MACDDS (SB 40’s home page) under agenda/minutes. Mr. Bernie Simons, Director of MRDD, and his Jefferson City staff, have been a permanent agenda item for almost two years. He has seen, interacted and given more time to the SB 40’s leadership and private providers (AO) than all of his regional centers combined. Some he has only visited 1-2 times. I suppose it makes it easier to terminate staff when you don’t know their names.