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County moves to tighten oversight of Substance Abuse Connect after public pleas to maintain services
Summary
After hours of public comment from service providers, city officials and residents, the Yellowstone County Commission voted to amend and renegotiate the Substance Abuse Connect contract to add reporting and board oversight rather than immediately terminating it; commissioners said renegotiation will include transparency on mill-levy expenditures.
Chair opened debate March 28 on whether to terminate the county’s contract with Substance Abuse Connect (SAC), the coordinating body that helps deliver mental-health diversion services funded by a 3.2-mill mental-health levy approved by voters in 2010.
Zach Terakidas, SAC’s director, told the commission he was asking the board “to honor the contractual agreement” and to allow SAC to present additional data and an evidence-based, data-driven path forward before June. He said SAC’s executive committee includes partners such as Riverstone Health, Billings Clinic, the Yellowstone County Sheriff and Billings Police and that the program’s approach aligns with a statewide crisis-systems…
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