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Shawnee County approves $3 million contract with Astra Mental Health and Recovery
Summary
The commission approved a $3 million allocation to Astra Mental Health and Recovery for community mental-health services in 2026; the contract includes $170,000 from opioid settlement funds and one-time general fund merger funding, approved 3-0.
The Shawnee County Board of County Commissioners voted 3-0 on Dec. 22 to approve contract C522-2025 with Astra Mental Health and Recovery for $3,000,000 to fund community mental-health services in 2026.
Jennifer Sauer, the county's financial administrator, said the agreement consolidates prior arrangements and includes funding adjustments approved in the 2026 budget process: one-time general fund merger funds and $170,000 drawn from the county's opioid settlement allocation. Sauer described the contract as part of the county's allocation process and identified Astra as the new branded entity following a merger of prior providers.
Commissioners approved the contract without discussion of program detail, 3-0. The contract covers county mental-health services that the county previously funded through other providers and merges those responsibilities under the Astra agreement.
Next steps listed in the record include execution of the contract and inclusion in the county's 2026 budget implementation. The meeting record did not specify a breakdown of services or performance metrics in the hearing.
