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Delaware‑Morrow mental‑health board outlines services, funding and workforce challenges to Sunbury council
Summary
The executive director of the Delaware and Morrow Mental Health & Recovery Services Board briefed Sunbury council on the board's role, providers it funds, the 988 crisis hotline coverage, and ongoing workforce and funding pressures; council members discussed local outreach and access.
Deanna Brandt, executive director of the Delaware and Morrow Mental Health and Recovery Services Board, gave a roughly 10‑minute presentation to Sunbury council May 21 describing the board's role in planning, funding and monitoring the public behavioral‑health system that serves Delaware and Morrow counties.
Brandt said the board is established under Section 340 of the Ohio Revised Code. She emphasized the board is not a direct provider of services but instead conducts community needs assessments, funds certified nonprofit providers that deliver evidence‑based programs, and evaluates access and outcomes. Brandt listed providers funded by the board, including NAMI Mid‑Ohio, Safe Harbor (peer support), Southeast Healthcare (adult services), Sentero (children and youth services), Mary Haven (substance use treatment), Turning Point (shelter and support for victims of family violence), and others. She said the board also funds school‑based prevention services and smaller community partnerships that place staff in jails, courts and schools.
Brandt described the board’s funding mix as local property tax levies (she said a five‑year, 1.5‑mill levy last appeared on the ballot in 2021 and the board expects to return to the ballot in 2026), state funds that flow through the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services, and federal grants. She warned that workforce shortages and fixed third‑party reimbursement rates leave many nonprofit providers operating at a loss when costs rise, and that workforce is the board’s single greatest challenge.
On the 988 national crisis line, Brandt said the system routes callers to regional providers and that the local helpline handles calls, chats and texts; callers can use the national number or contact the local helpline directly. Council members asked about local outreach and increasing public awareness; a council member suggested the city include the board’s information in community events and school outreach, and Brandt said the board is working to expand communications but is constrained by staffing.
Why it matters: the board is the local payer and coordinator for public behavioral health supports available in Sunbury and surrounding communities. Brandt stressed that the board’s programs are intended to serve people in distress regardless of formal diagnosis and urged community leaders to weigh the public value of programs when considering local levy questions.
Next steps: council members discussed inviting Brandt back for follow‑up, and Brandt offered to provide data and maps showing provider footprints across the two counties. Council members and staff discussed ways the city could help promote the board's services at community events.
