Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Mental Health Governance topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Commission reappoints Val Larson to Yankton County mental-illness board; county pays for hearings involving residents
Summary
The commission reappointed Val (Belle) Larson to a three-year term on the county Board of Mental Illness and heard that the board conducts hearings to determine involuntary hospitalization; staff explained the county bears costs for hearings when referred residents are Yankton County residents.
YANKTON — The Yankton County Commission voted to reappoint Val (Belle) Larson to a three-year term on the Yankton County Board of Mental Illness after a presentation from board chair Lucy Levno about the board’s duties.
‘‘When people are brought to the human services center, the state hospital, we conduct all the hearings... If they’re going to have to stay there for five days or longer, they have to have a hearing to determine that we have the right to take away their liberty,’’ Lucy Levno told commissioners while describing the board’s role in involuntary-commitment hearings.
Levno explained the board conducts hearings for anyone referred by counties in the region; she said Yankton County bills other counties when their residents are referred but that approximately five counties have declined to reimburse Yankton for hearings in the past. ‘‘I wrote them all letters, and I told them I am not conducting their hearings,’’ she said, describing efforts to limit uncompensated workloads.
Commissioners asked how reimbursement works and were told the county pays when the client is a Yankton County resident; if another county refers a person, Yankton County can bill that county for the hearing. After brief discussion commissioners approved Larson’s reappointment by voice vote.
