By Greg Halbleib
BLOOMINGTON – A federal grant has been awarded to McLean County to continue work to better deal with mental health issues.
The grant totals more than $215,000 and is designed to help train first responders and related service providers on how to deal with behavioral health issues. McLean County Board Chairman John McIntyre said it’s not a matching grant but an undetermined amount of local funds will supplement the efforts, possibly from the one-quarter-cent sales tax designed for that purpose.
McIntyre said the grant will help fund work already underway to develop methods that could help people suffering from mental health issues and reduce the strain on the legal and health care systems. The project will provide training for first responders and related service providers during the three-year grant period.
“We’re trying to divert those individuals who have been super-utlilizers as far as using the system over and over,” McIntyre said. “It’s been very costly. (The grant is also) to keep them from being incarcerated and to get them treatment when needed.”
In 2013, a National Institute of Corrections study noted a direct connection between deficiencies in behavioral health systems coordination in McLean County and the increase in jail detainees with behavioral health issues.
Greg Halbleib can be reached at greg@wjbc.com.
