By Michael Howell
The Ravalli County Commissioners decided on July 27 to fund the Bitterroot Youth Crisis Diversion project for a few months, enabling the Western Montana Mental Health Center/Westhouse to contract with the Linda Massa Youth Homes to provide an extra bed in their multiple-bed youth crisis center.
According to the director of the youth homes, Anna Green, the organization is the only one in the state offering crisis beds for long-term non-therapeutic youth in crisis. But it is nice to have a bed open so that some of the law enforcement and other agencies as well as the local hospital emergency rooms have a place to bring otherwise uncontrollable juveniles in the middle of the night.
For the last six months, federal money provided through the Montana State Children’s Mental Health Bureau has helped pay for the extra bed at a cost of about $118 per day. But that funding dried up in June and the next funding cycle is not due for another three months. They were really in need of some gap funding when Commissioner Ray Hawk decided that the commissioners might be able to help out.
“These gals didn’t come and ask me for any money,” Hawk told the other commissioners. “They are not here begging for funds. It was my idea. This one’s on me.” He even suggested that the $10,000 needed to pay for the extra bed could come from the commissioners’ special projects fund.
Deputy County Attorney Howard Recht cautioned the commissioners that giving a grant to a local non-profit organization was not legal. However, if the commissioners recognized a need they could contract for services to meet the need. As a result the motion was made to contract for services to provide a crisis bed for youth at the cost of $118 per day up to $10,000.
He said since the need was immediate, services could be contracted without an RFP and advertising. But if it became more than a one-time contract, they would need to do an RFP in the future.
Green pointed out that the operation of the eight-bed youth crisis center has shown that the use of such a service can drastically cut down on expenses to law enforcement and local hospitals. The cost of a room for the night at the ER is about $240 whereas the bed at the crisis center is only $118. She said that by providing a bed to a youth in a crisis situation it gives both the youth and their family a chance to stabilize a situation that has gotten out of hand.
The commissioners approved the contract unanimously. Green thanked the commissioners but also promised to defray the cost of those services by doing her own fundraising.
For more information got to www.bitterrootyouthcrisis.org.