Johnson County supervisors used part of their Sept. 9 work session to discuss state and federal legislative priorities and pressing gaps in mental-health and crisis-care capacity, including limits on the number of beds at access centers.

Staff updated supervisors on Urban County Coalition (UCC) coordination and an upcoming joint meeting of local elected officials and the county’s state house delegation planned for December. Staff reported a head count of 18 for an upcoming joint meeting (13 in person, five online) and said the county is arranging meetings for the 10 county elected officials to host the local state house delegation.

During discussion, supervisors and a member of the public noted bed shortages across the state and said that regulatory limits—from the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and state legislation—constrain how many beds an access center can operate. One supervisor said an access center was limited to 16 beds because of a combination of HHS rules and statute. The board said addressing the shortage will require state-level and HHS changes.

Supervisors asked staff to add the beds shortage and regulatory limits to their legislative outreach. Staff said they will raise the issue at upcoming meetings with the Urban County Coalition and the local legislative delegation and will report back after those discussions.

Why it matters: supervisors described scarcity of mental-health beds as a factor shifting service costs and responsibilities to local governments when state-level capacity or authorization is limited.

Background and next steps: staff said the county will discuss bed availability and regulatory limits during a joint meeting of county elected officials and the Urban County Coalition, and will bring legislative priorities back to the board.