SULLIVAN'S SALVOS
January 29, 2020
Sullivan’s Salvos 2/4/20
In this edition:
*RIP Joe Brisben
*Caucus!
*Elizabeth Warren
*Update on MHDS Region
*Did You Know?
*RIP Joe Brisben
I was sad to hear that Joe Brisben of Iowa City passed away. Joe was a Renaissance Man - musician, storyteller, teacher, financial professional, Democrat, and all-around great guy. RIP, Joe!
*Caucus!
Most of you will see this prior to Monday, February 3rd. So I still have time to impart this message: Please caucus!
Yes, it is a strange process. Yes, it will be crowded. But it is critical that people participate in their government!
*Elizabeth Warren
I endorsed Elizabeth Warren for President way back in early June of 2019. Now, with the 2020 caucuses here, I want to make one last case for her election.
I feel very strongly that she is what this country needs right now. No one is more courageous. No one is smarter. No one works harder. That is a great combo!
I support Elizabeth Warren because we know exactly where she stands.
Billionaires, insurance companies, big pharma, polluters, tech giants, big Ag, and Wall Street HATE her. That is good enough for me! As FDR once said, “Judge me by the enemies I’ve made.”
We need big ideas. Nobody has more big ideas than Warren. Plus, she can explain how every big idea will work and exactly how it is paid for. I am so proud to endorse Elizabeth Warren for President!
And you have heard about many of those plans. Universal Childcare. Student debt relief. Free college. Historic investment in affordable housing. Ending corruption. Rebuilding the middle class. Strengthening Democracy. Equal Justice. Each with detailed plans!
Here is a list of the elected officials in Johnson County that have endorsed Elizabeth Warren. It is a great group of people, and we would love to add your name to the list! Please let me know if you would like to join us!
State Senator Joe Bolkcom, State Senator Zach Wahls, State Representative Mary Mascher, former State Representative David Osterberg, County Attorney Janet Lyness, County Recorder Kim Painter, County Supervisor Royceann Porter, County Supervisor Janelle Rettig, County Supervisor Rod Sullivan, ICCSD Board Member Lisa Williams, ICCSD Board Member Charlie Eastham, former Iowa City Mayor Jim Throgmorton, Iowa City Councilor Mazahir Salih, Iowa City Councilor Laura Bergus, Coralville Councilor Meghann Foster, North Liberty Councilor RaQuishia Harrington, Tiffin City Councilor Mike Ryan, and Solon City Councilor Lauren Whited.
I would love to talk with you about the Warren campaign. Please contact me if you would like to know more!
*Update on MHDS Region
The East Central Iowa Mental Health Region has been in the news lately. Unfortunately, Linn and Johnson Counties had not being as supported as they need to be by the other counties in the Region.
First, some background: In 2011, the State of Iowa redesigned its mental health system. By 2014, Iowa’s counties had merged Mental Health and Intellectual Disabilities Services (MHDS) into 15 regions across the state.
Johnson County ended up in a very odd 9-county geographical region – we are combined with Benton, Iowa, Linn, and Jones Counties – that comes as no surprise. What I would not have guessed is that we are also teamed up with Buchanan, Bremer, Dubuque, and Delaware Counties.
The region is governed by a 9-member board, consisting of one Supervisor from each county. I was Johnson County’s appointee to this group for the first four years of its existence, plus the previous two years of negotiating the creation of the region. So yes, I am personally very invested.
We accomplished a lot. Until relatively recently, the Board has worked well together. Staff people have been great. And I’m pleased to report that more people have received more services than ever before. That is the key, so let me repeat it: more people have received more services than ever before. It has not been perfect, but it has been an improvement!
This transition changed the financing considerably. Medicaid is primarily a Federal funding stream, but it has a local match. In the past, counties paid the cost of this local match. Now the state is paying the non-local match for Medicaid. Meanwhile, county property tax dollars pay for all the non-Medicaid services.
The idea behind the creation of regions was to increase the available services, while making services consistent statewide. After several years of operation, I think we would have to consider regions a qualified success. Have they solved our mental health crisis? Absolutely not! But again, they have led to more people getting more services.
The actual solutions to our mental health crisis are actually quite simple: 1.) We need to roughly triple the available funding, 2.) We need to reduce bureaucratic rules, and 3.) The state should run the system equitably across Iowa.
The state wants #3, but they are completely unwilling to act upon #1 and #2. Until we do so, we are simply moving limited resources around.
So back to the current situation. Police are often faced with difficult choices. They are frequently dealing with people who are under the influence, experiencing a mental health crisis, or both. Unfortunately, often the only options for police are to take these folks to jail or the ER.
To address this, Linn and Johnson Counties are in the process of developing “Access Centers”. Access Centers are short term treatment facilities designed to keep people out of the ER and/or the jail. The Governor, the Department of Human Services, NAMI, and many others support this type of facility.
Both Linn and Johnson Counties have been moving forward on the development of Access Centers. Linn County will be remodeling an existing facility; Johnson County is building new on Southgate Avenue in Iowa City.
Unfortunately, the Region has been – until last week – unwilling to commit to providing the necessary funding for these facilities. This was frustrating for many reasons:
1. The services are a “best practice” treatment, and will really help people in times of crisis.
2. The facility will save law enforcement officers thousands of hours of time they currently spend sitting at the ER and/or jail.
3. The Region is funded by property taxes from all 9 counties. Linn and Johnson Counties provide the huge majority of these funds.
4. Residents of all 9 counties will undoubtedly use the services.
Thankfully, the Regional Board saw the value in this approach. They approved funding for both the Linn and Johnson County centers! We still have work to do to make this fly financially. But I am happy to report we are in a much better place today!
*DID YOU KNOW? 19.1% of U.S. adults experienced mental illness in 2018 (47.6 million people). This represents 1 in 5 adults. 4.6% of U.S. adults experienced serious mental illness in 2018 (11.4 million people). This represents 1 in 25 adults.
Anyone interested in learning more about County government should take a look at the County website-
"Sullivan’s Salvos" is sent once per week to any interested party. It will give a brief update on issues of interest to Johnson County residents.
These messages come solely from Rod Sullivan, and neither represents the viewpoints of the whole Board of Supervisors nor those of groups or individuals otherwise mentioned.
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As always, feel free to contact me at 354-7199 or rodsullivan@mchsi.com. I look forward to serving you!
---Rod
posted by Rod Sullivan @ 9:06 PM
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