Encompass asks Madison County for funding as it outlines crisis‑stabilization plans at Thrift Road

Representatives from Encompass Community Supports appeared before the Madison County Board of Supervisors to request continued funding and to explain how the organization plans to use the Thrift Road facility to expand behavioral‑health and intellectual‑disability services in the county.

Cheryl Rinstrom, representing Encompass, said the organization experienced budgetary pressures during the past year but is redesigning service delivery to increase local presence. "Our goal is by May 1st every day Monday through Friday it will be used for day support services," she said, adding that crisis staff have been deployed to the site to respond to calls coordinated with law enforcement.

Encompass said it provided services to more than 100 Madison residents in behavioral‑health outpatient programs over the last year and also operates Area Agency on Aging services in the county, including home‑delivered meals and senior‑center visits. The organization asked the board for funding of $263,467. Board members signaled support but said they would reduce the recommended allocation in their draft budget to $242,000, citing the need for clearer Madison‑specific accounting.

Board members pressed for tangible metrics and local presence. Supervisor Charman said public searches and visits to Thrift Road suggested little visible activity; she asked for a tour and better breakdowns. "I don't see any apparent community activity helps in Madison," she said. Rinstrom replied she would provide a breakdown and offered to give supervisors a tour: "I will happily give you my card and I will take you on a tour of it anytime you would like."

Why it matters: supervisors emphasized that local taxpayers must see measurable, Madison‑specific impacts from outside‑agency funding. Encompass responded by describing both crisis response coordination with law enforcement and plans to pursue licensing for a five‑bed, up‑to‑14‑day stabilization unit downstairs in the Thrift Road facility, with the upstairs intended for 23‑hour temporary crisis care.

Next steps: Encompass will provide a county‑specific breakdown (a requested pie chart) of how previous local appropriations were spent, showing counts broken out by service type. The board left a reduced draft allocation in the budget model but asked Encompass for the requested documentation before final adoption.

Ending: Supervisors said they remain supportive of behavioral‑health services but insisted on clearer local metrics before restoring the full requested amount.