Mental health region merger on-track for approval

WASHINGTON — Officials plans are back on track to merge the Southeast Iowa Link and South Central Behavioral Health mental health and disability service regions into one agency that also encompasses Monroe County.

Approval of a document governing the merger, called a 28E agreement, was briefly delayed by a handful of county attorneys in the combined region, which has recently finalized its name as the “Mental Health Agency of Southeast Iowa.”

Those changes were addressed before many counties voted in favor of the new agreement at regular meetings this week. The list includes clarifications about action in the absence of certain officials, conditions allowing disputes to be settled in court if arbitration fails, and heightened requirements for amendments to the agreement.

“The revised version that we’re looking at … really contains no substantive changes from the one that was presented a couple of weeks ago,” Washington County Supervisor and Vice Chair of the SEIL Governing Board Jack Seward Jr. said at a joint meeting of the regions June 1. “I think that everyone is satisfied that the updated and revised 28E that we’re looking at today … is a good one.”

Another change alters the makeup of the new region’s governing board, something Seward said was necessary after Gov. Kim Reynolds signed legislation on the matter. Under the new agreement, the board’s size is capped at 13 members, no more than six of which can be elected officials. The previous version of the agreement would have delegated a representative from each county.

At a Washington County Board of Supervisors meeting Tuesday, Seward said he recognized the legal need to comply, but was frustrated with the law which requires that the nonelected board members include mental health care providers and others who previously served in non-voting roles.

“You’re watering down, you’re reducing the voice of the elected officials,” he said. “And to me, that is where the accountability lies … if anything goes wrong, it’s not going to be the bureaucrats at HHS, it’s not going to be the legislators in Des Moines, it’s going to be who the people can elect or not elect going forward.”

With the votes of approval coming in from member counties, SEIL CEO Ryanne Wood said the merger would be finalized by the start of the next fiscal year on July 1, although it will be close.

“Time is of the essence to get everything approved at the county level, so by the 14th we have all of the signature pages returned,” she said.

Comments: Kalen.McCain@southeastiowaunion.com