BELVIDERE — Supervising a transitional halfway house, expanding transportation services, and increasing the number of Spanish-language resources are three of six ways a mental health advisory committee says Boone County could fill gaps found in its mental health coverage.
After an 18-month assessment of health care providers, support groups and counseling centers, the Boone County Mental Health Advisory Committee found few health care providers and limited treatment options available in the county to residents suffering from mental illness. The committee was formed in 2013 to analyze the area's mental health resources.
The committee described six needs in a draft of its report: faster and better mental illness assessment, more providers and hospital beds, more transportation services, more Spanish-language resources, a halfway house for supported supervision, and a referral service. Children, Spanish-speakers and people without health insurance suffer from a "severe shortage" of mental health resources, according to the report.
Many of Boone County's mentally ill are evaluated for the first time at the county jail after they have already been arrested for behavior triggered by their diseases, the report said.
"We have people that come in with various forms of mental illness," said Lt. John Hare, a committee member and Boone County Jail superintendent. "There is some degree of likelihood that if they had not been suffering from that (illness), then they would not" have been arrested.
"It’s fairly common."
Assessment results and several recommendations will be presented to the County Board within the next three months. The cost of implementing those recommendations has not been determined.
Bill Hatfield, director of environmental health for the county health department, said the agency doesn't have the resources to keep track of mental illness statistics. Lack of data has made it difficult to measure the extent of the county's mental health issues.
Most of the county's 20 mental health and addiction counseling providers direct patients to out-of-county facilities for care. Only one, Rosecrance, which has a clinic in Belvidere, provides all 10 services assessed by the committee. But many of Rosecrance's services are only available to Boone County patients if they travel to its building in Rockford.
According to statistics obtained from Rosecrance, between July 2014 and December 2014, 600 of its clients were from Boone County. Of those clients, 364 were served at Rosecrance's Belvidere clinic.
"For several reasons there is a lack of adequate resources," said Harriet Roll, Boone County Mental Health Advisory Committee chairman. "Partly because the providers aren’t there and partly
Committee finds gaps in Boone County's mental health resources - News - Rockford Register Star - Rockford, IL
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