Carbon County is sending a message to the state that more funding is needed for mental health services.

On Thursday, the county commissioners adopted a resolution requesting appropriate funding to support “the crumbling health system” in the upcoming 2022-2023 state budget.

Commissioners’ Chairman Wayne Nothstein read the resolution, which states that counties “provide essential community-based mental health services such as crisis intervention, community residential programs, family-based support and outpatient care, which are critical to the well-being of our constituents and our communities.”

In 2012, the state Legislature cut human services’ budgets to counties by $84 million. These cuts affected mental health services, programs for people with intellectual disabilities and other needs.

To date, the state has not increased this budget to help mental health services costs due to inflation and an increase in the number of people needing these services.

“State funding has lagged far behind needs and caseloads for years, which has negatively affected services while also putting tension on communities and local budgets,” the resolution states. “... Counties will need collaboration between the Legislature and administration to work closely with them on a targeted, strategic investment of dollars into community mental health services at the county level in order to continue the existing safety net and bolster the availability of mental health services to those who need them as vital steps in the right direction.”

Kathleen Peterson, fiscal officer for Carbon-Monroe Pike Mental Health/Developmental Services, said that the money for mental health services is used to cover safe and affordable supportive living and housing, room and board or rent subsidies, employment, transportation, food, utilities, those who do not have insurance and student assistance programs.

“We saw a 10% decrease in 2012,” Peterson said. “And we have also not seen an increase in over 14 years. The cost of living to our providers has increased significantly during that 14-year time span, but there are staff shortages.

“We have waiting lists into our program. We can’t meet the needs of the people that we’re already serving and the staff that we have, we’re seeing some burnout. It’s important for us to address the mental health needs of our own workforce, not just the individuals that we serve.”

Peterson said people with mental health issues who don’t receive the support they need strain the community’s infrastructure.

Larissa Kimmel, systems of care coordinator for CMPMH/DS, cited challenges that include lower workforces and the ability for individuals to be served at lower levels of care, compounding the problem at high places of care, such as emergency rooms.

When this happens, it creates a ripple effect because services back up because of the individual’s needs are not being met.

“The more resources that we need to use for the higher level of need, the less resources we have for community based services,” she said.

Nothstein added the county also sees this effect in its criminal justice system, Children and Youth, and other departments.

To combat this, Carbon has tried to secure grants to create diversion programs, formed the re-entry coalition and created specialized court systems.

“If we can sort those people out that need mental health issues, because that is what is causing the crime to begin with, then we can get them into the proper system. It saves us a lot of funding and a lot of money down the road as well,” Nothstein said. “It’s extremely important for funding to prevent it because it costs so much more if it is through the court system.”

Other areas where mental health issues are on the rise are in the elderly and youth populations. “These are the most vulnerable populations that we’re trying to address right now,” Kimmel said.

In the 2022-2023 proposed budget, Wolf proposed investing $36.6 million additional funds into county mental health base funds, on top of $75 million in federal funds for recruitment and retention payments to home and community-based service providers. He also proposed $18.8 million to provide services for people with intellectual disabilities or autism who are currently on an emergency waitlist.

The Legislature has until June 31 to pass a final budget.