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Johnson County to seek authorization for 988 texting staff and new adult crisis stabilization center
Summary
At an April 17 agenda review, Johnson County staff described requests to add staff and spend reserves to expand 988 texting/chat capacity and open an adult crisis stabilization center; both items will come to the business session on April 24 for final action.
Mike Kelly, chair of the Board of County Commissioners for Johnson County, Kansas, previewed two staff requests from the Johnson County Mental Health Center at the board’s April 17 agenda review: adding three full-time equivalent case managers to expand 988 texting and online chat capacity, and adding 18 FTEs to staff a planned adult crisis stabilization center.
The items matter because they would expand local behavioral-health crisis response: the 988 proposal would let the county’s call center accept text and online chat in addition to phone calls, while the crisis stabilization center would create 14 additional adult stabilization beds and support detox and observation services locally.
Tim DeWeese, a representative of the Johnson County Mental Health Center, told commissioners the 988 center already handles phone calls at the emergency communications center and now has the technology to accept text and chat, but needs case managers to operate those channels. The board packet says the county would authorize reallocation and expenditure of fund-balance reserves for fiscal 2025 in an amount not to exceed $222,000 for the three positions. DeWeese said the positions will be funded primarily through CCBHC (Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic) funding and additional state funds tied to 988 implementation.
DeWeese also described plans to convert and expand the county’s existing Recovery Place facility into an adult crisis stabilization center. The April 17 briefing sought authorization to add 18 FTEs and to reallocate and expend mental-health fund-balance reserves for fiscal 2025 in an amount not to exceed $1,243,000. DeWeese said the remodeled facility will include a 24/7 receiving area in the basement, a wing with detox and crisis observation, and a wing for longer-term crisis stabilization. He told the board the expansion would add 14 adult beds to the 12 beds the county already operates, for a total of 26 beds when the project is complete.
Commissioners discussed funding sources and program stability. DeWeese described multiple funding streams: state general funds through the participating mental health center agreement and CCBHC, which pays based on cost per qualified interaction rather than fee-for-service. He said the county received a 10% increase in its CCBHC payment rate last year and will be reevaluated again in 2027. Commissioners asked whether the requested reserve authority represented one-time or ongoing funding; DeWeese said the money is ongoing funding that the center will continue to receive but that the board’s authorization is needed to spend it from reserve authority now.
Several commissioners—including Commissioner Allen Brand, Commissioner Myers, Commissioner Fast and Commissioner Burr—commended the proposals and pressed staff for outcome measures and data showing effects on emergency-room diversion and law-enforcement transports. DeWeese said staff will collect outcome data after operations begin and will work with county leaders and hospital partners to quantify ER diversions and potential cost savings. DeWeese also said approximately 60 percent of adults seen in the planned facility are expected to be uninsured, a statistic he cited in discussing the county-level need for local crisis beds.
No final votes were taken during the agenda review. Staff presented both items for board consideration and said they will return to the business session on April 24 for formal action. The agenda materials identify the 988 staffing request as “authorize reallocation and expenditure of fund balance reserves for FY 02/2025 in an amount not to exceed $222,000” and the crisis stabilization request as “authorize reallocation and expenditure of mental health fund balance reserve authority for FY 2025 in the amount of $1,243,000.”
If the board approves the crisis-center funding and positions next week, staff said the facility’s remaining construction and outfitting work is expected to complete within the weeks described in the briefing and the county will begin collecting performance metrics to report back to commissioners.
