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Adams County committee approves reclassification of behavioral health positions to aid hiring
Summary
The committee approved adding three new HHS positions and reclassifying two behavioral health roles to address recruitment challenges; funding was described as covered by medical and mental‑health billings and supervisors said the changes should be budget‑neutral.
The Adams County committee voted to approve three new position placements to the county wage scale aimed at easing recruitment in the behavioral health unit.
The Health and Human Services director told the committee the restructure keeps the total number of positions at four but changes titles and pay grades: a lead therapist (proposed pay grade 11) will replace a behavioral health therapist (previously grade 12), a substance abuse counselor was assigned pay grade 14 to replace a behavioral health therapist, and a Practical Sense case manager budgeted for 2026 was proposed at pay grade 15. The director said the lead therapist will be a working clinician who also provides some clinical supervision.
"They're gonna be taking over some of the clinical supervision," the Health and Human Services director said, explaining how the lead position differs from current therapist roles. The director told the committee the changes aim to make the county more competitive in hiring for difficult‑to‑fill behavioral health therapist posts.
Supervisor Poehler asked about fiscal impact; the director said she did not have exact dollar amounts but described the mix of grades and noted the substance abuse counselor position is lower in grade than the behavioral health therapist it replaces. The finance director later confirmed funding for the affected positions will come primarily from medical and mental‑health billings.
"If I hear this correctly, it sounds like it's gonna be a wash," Supervisor Poehler said before moving approval.
The motion to approve the wage‑scale placement changes was moved and seconded and passed by voice vote. The committee directed staff to implement the changes and incorporate the positions into the county budget and hiring process.
The action keeps the headcount at four while shifting job classifications and pay grades to address recruitment challenges; the committee did not record a specific total dollar amount for the net change in payroll costs at the meeting.
