Linn County proclaims May 2025 Mental Health Month; hears Access Center quarterly report and selects sobering‑unit provider

The Linn County Board of Supervisors on April 30 proclaimed May 2025 as Mental Health Month and received the Linn County Mental Health Access Center’s third‑quarter report, which described rising EMS and law‑enforcement referrals, statewide behavioral‑health realignment questions and local steps to expand diversion and withdrawal services.

The board’s proclamation asked residents, government agencies, schools and businesses to increase awareness of mental health and support prevention and treatment. The board then heard a roughly 30‑minute presentation from Erin Foster, director of the Linn County Mental Health Access Center, on operations, partnerships and pending contract and licensing issues.

Foster told the board that referrals from emergency medical services and law enforcement have increased since a recent change allowing EMS agencies to bill to transport people to designated access centers. “That was a really big barrier that we addressed then,” she said, describing improved coordination and a quarterly EMS/law‑enforcement subcommittee that reviews data.

Foster presented utilization data: triage times average about an hour, stabilization (“beds”) stays average three to five days, and law‑enforcement and EMS made 67 referrals in the quarter covered by the report. In those referrals, staff recorded that 37 percent of referred individuals “would have gone to jail” if not brought to the center and 68 percent “would have gone to the hospital,” measures the center uses to track diversion from higher‑intensity settings. Foster said the average handoff time when law enforcement or EMS drop someone at the center is about three minutes.

The Access Center is offering multiple levels of care on site, Foster said, including walk‑in crisis counseling, a 23‑hour observation unit, stabilization beds and a sobering unit for people who are intoxicated. She described a jail‑release connection pilot with the sheriff’s office that routes people released from suicide watch to the Access Center rather than the emergency room when appropriate; Foster said that route has been used “a couple times” and produced follow‑up engagement.

Foster discussed the state’s behavioral‑health realignment, which places Linn County in District 7 under a state‑selected administrative services organization (ASO) based in Des Moines. She said timelines for advisory councils and contracts remain unclear: the county was told advisory councils would be formed and used to shape district contracts, but meetings and contract rollouts have shifted. “We were told initially that those advisory councils would, be decided in March,” she said, and later noted the district’s advisory council includes several sheriffs in the elected‑official slots rather than county supervisors.

On funding and outreach, Foster said the center is working with a marketing firm, De Novo, using already‑approved Access Center budget funds plus money from Linn County opioid settlement funds to reach newly added counties in District 7.

Foster gave updates on two services still in development: withdrawal management (a medically supervised program) and a sobering unit. She said withdrawal management is ready to open once the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services issues a temporary license; “literally as soon as we get that license we can open our doors,” she said.

Regarding the sobering unit, Foster said the county issued a request for proposals in March and received two bids. A review subcommittee including EMS, law‑enforcement and advisory members recommended Area Ambulance for continued service. Foster said Area Ambulance’s contract will be included with other Access Center contracts when county counsel and the county contracting process are completed; she noted Area Ambulance’s current contract runs through June 30 and the county will not need an immediate replacement contract before that date.

Public comments during the meeting reinforced support for the Access Center. Jenna Shonifer of Foundation 2, the region’s crisis operations partner, thanked the board and said, “every conversation we can have about mental health care and suicide prevention can be life saving and life changing.” Kurt Rogan of NAMI Linn County told the board, “This is a good thing,” and urged continued community support.

Foster closed by describing routine evaluation work planned for June—community partner surveys, client feedback and an advisory‑board review—so the center can refine operations heading into the next fiscal year.

Questions remain about state contracts and the ASO rollout, which Foster and board members said will determine some funding and reporting changes after July 1. Foster asked the board for patience as the county and providers “do literally everything we can within our power” to align local practice with state requirements and protect continuity of care.

Board members expressed support for the center and concern about the contract timeline; they said they would continue to monitor the ASO transition while keeping local programs operating.

The board’s proclamation and the report were informational; the board did not take separate formal votes on Access Center operational items during the presentation.