Cumberland County, N.C., Mental Health Center Holds Forum to Address Residents’ Concerns about Statewide System Reforms

The Cumberland County, N.C., Mental Health Center on July 16 held a public forum to explain the state's plan to privatize the mental health system and how the county will implement the reforms, the Fayetteville Observer reports (Washington, Fayetteville Observer, 7/17). The state's plan calls for public mental health centers over the next five years to transform "from places where the mentally ill are actually treated to places that contract most or all of their services to private providers." In addition, patients would be moved out of state-run mental health institutions and into community-based care centers (Kaiser Daily Health Policy Report, 5/16). The reforms will be spread over five years. Debbie Jenkins, director of Cumberland County's Child and Family Services for Mental Health, said that for the county, the "first step" of instituting the reforms is to develop a business plan that "ensure[s] that mental health services are based in the community." The county also will have to determine how to provide services for individuals whom the state does not consider part of its "target populatio[n]," she added. The Observer provides no further details on which individuals the state will target for services. Jenkins said, "We have to look at ... who will qualify and who will not. We have to look at what people and services they need," adding that whatever services the state will not cover must "come from the communities." Hank Debnam, Cumberland County Mental Health director, said that the goal of the reforms "is to find ways to provide better treatment closer to home and to save money within the system." But Gilbert Beeson, director of the Fayetteville Family Life Center, said, "One of my first fears is that as services are pulled back, our agencies will be overwhelmed." The department must submit its plan for implementing the reforms to the state by October, Jenkins said (Fayetteville Observer, 7/17).