The ADAMH Board of Franklin County files legal action against the Ohio Department of Mental Health

Jun 29, 2009

The Franklin County Office of the Prosecuting Attorney filed actions against the Ohio Department of Mental Health on behalf of the Alcohol, Drug and Mental Health (ADAMH) Board of Franklin County in the Franklin County Common Pleas Court on Monday, June 29, 2009 to seek the full distribution of funds based on any newly adopted formula for state budget line item 408.

“The ADAMH Board of Franklin County appreciates the leadership of Ohio Department of Mental Health Director Sandra Stephenson changing this funding formula, based on many years evidence that it is no longer demographically representative of the mental health needs of many counties in Ohio.” said David A. Royer, ADAMH CEO.

“The ADAMH Board of Trustees unanimously agrees it is prudent to file a legal action to ensure that the Ohio Department of Mental Health will fully fund the distributions according to any new formula,” said Dr. Jill Steuer, ADAMH Board of Trustees Chair.

The current funding formula for line item 408 is based on historical hospital use, prevalence counts of severe mental illness and unmet need factors. The new formula proposed by Director Stephenson is based on prevalence counts of severe mental illness, population and poverty.

Director Stephenson is suggesting a phased-in approach for the new funding formula. This approach will financially disadvantage Franklin County and the immediate cost to Franklin County for the next two years is a loss of $9 million in revenue.

“We are talking about access to care for people with severe mental illness and their families. It is important to ensure the citizens of Franklin County and their families receive a fair distribution of these scarce resources and they are not disadvantaged by this decision,” said Steuer.

ADAMH is Franklin County’s authority for planning, funding and evaluating mental health, alcohol and drug abuse prevention and treatment services. ADAMH-funded services are provided by a local network of more than 40 not-for-profit providers and offered on a sliding-fee scale, making them affordable for any county resident, regardless of income. For more information, visit the ADAMH Web site at www.adamhfranklin.org.

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