Kathi Wright - Special to the Sun

Kern County Mental Health recently held dozens of workshops throughout Kern County including the Kern River Valley - and invited mental health professionals, case managers, and the public to attend. The fiscal crisis has a long reach, and Kern County Mental Health (KCMH) is taking a proactive approach to prioritize and make available important, needed mental health services to residents throughout the Valley and all of Kern. The goal is to redesign current Mental Health services to function within a smaller budget framework, without interagency duplication of services or interruption of care.

Stephanie Thal, MA, MFT, facilitated the local focus group at the February 28, KRV Collaborative meeting, at the request of Kern County Mental Health. Thal stated that, 'These focus groups were held across Kern County, in both rural and metro areas, including the Kern River Valley. The same questions were asked at all groups, to gather information as KCMH works toward redesigning its system of care. Kern County Mental Health is in the process of looking at the data from all of the focus groups and surveys.'

Stephanie Thal, left, facilitates a workshop at the February meeting of the Kern River Valley Collaborative, asking mental health professionals, case managers and the public for their input about the future of mental health services in the Kern River Valley. Collaborative chair Nancy Puckett, right, organizes paperwork as the meeting gets under way.

In addition to the focus group meetings, a survey posted online, by KCMH, posed the questions, 'I want the System of Care to provide’Ķ' and 'I want the System of Care to preserve’Ķ' and asked the survey-taker to rate the listed services on a ’Äòleast important ' to’ most important’ scale. KCMH stated that, '’ĶThe survey will assist ’Ķ in redesigning Mental Health services to better promote recovery and wellness with available resources. The information in the survey is based on input received from the many focus groups held in the last few weeks.' In the introductory verbiage on the online survey, KCMH points out that, 'The financial outlook for Kern County Mental Health and Contract Providers is not entirely certain. However, it is known that we will have less overall resources for the rest of this fiscal year and into the next several years’Ķ'

Recovery support is a blanket term that means different things to different people. In the Kern River Valley, for instance, AA has recently been expanded. Kernville Union School District and South Fork Union School District offer the 'Parent Project' program. The Sheriff’s Activity League has recently taken its first steps here; the Alzheimer’s Disease Association of Kern County offers an Adult Day Center each Friday and Optimal Hospice offers a weekly family and caregiver support group. But there are often crisis situations, requiring immediate care. The Valley has a high poverty rate, with substance abuse thrown into the mix. According to Mary Barlow, Kernville Union School District Superintendent. 'This area has the highest rate of emergency calls.'