Governor Sam Brownback’s 2013 fiscal plan requested that Pawnee Mental Health and Services eliminate their family centered systems of care.
Robbin Cole, Executive Director of Pawnee, explained to Riley County Commissioners earlier this week this will put a strain on Pawnee considering they would lose $300,000 from their budget starting in July. The Family Centered Systems of Care is a $5 million budget item that comes from tobacco settlement dollars. This allows community mental health centers to provide critical support to children with serious emotional disturbances and their families.
“In terms of the impact, locally,” Cole said. “The potential elimination of 6 FTE’s and then a fund of money available to help provide support to these kids and their families.”
Even further, with changes proposed for KanCare, Cole believes it is falling even more on places like Pawnee to serve as ‘gatekeepers’ for the state’s mental health hospitals. Effective July 1, 2012, the state of Kansas will stop paying community health services for screenings for those people without health insurance. That equals about $1.8 million per year.
Cole adds that this basically means anyone without health insurance has to “keep it together” and avoid being admitted to the state hospital.
The full discussion with the Riley County Commission may be heard in the above audio.
