County Mental Health Worker Appeals to Council to Halt Dissolution of Department

Northampton County mental health services case manager Jim Gregory appealed to county council members Thursday evening to intervene and reverse a department decision to immediately outsource their 50 clients and reassign case managers, effectively disbanding the department within three weeks.

Gregory asked that vacancies in the department, which are included in the 2011 budget, be posted and that services continue for clients.

“I plead with council and administration to direct our division head to post the vacant supervisor's position and continue our ICM services and not allow them to divert these funds elsewhere as they have in 2010,” he said. “At the very, very least, I ask that the administration immediately halt the outsourcing of clients until the practicality of their move can be considered.”

Most of those the department serves are “hard-working middle-class Americans who...suffered from debilitating losses they could not recover from,” he added.

“We have 50 or so mental health clients, many in crisis, who might not land so easily or might not land at all,” Gregory said. “With your decision to restore the department in 2003 Councilpersons Dowd, Angle, McHale and Ferraro saved lives.”

Former client Michael Baldi, of Easton, spoke in support of the program. He said it saved his life when he was clinically depressed and suicidal five years ago.

“When I heard about this, it was very hard-hitting,” he said. “My life is so much better because of [the program].”

Baldi said the lack of notice made the news even worse, as it let down clients as well as workers.

As much as 80 to 90 percent of the mental health program's costs are covered by state and federal funding.

“I realize there's less money around but this isn't a money issue,” Gregory said.

While he and the other affected workers would not be jobless, the work they would do would likely change drastically, he said.

“It's not just a change in position, it's a change in job,” he said, saying that he'd be forced to abandon his clients and work in institutions like the county prison instead.

Councilman Thomas Dietrich said the next human services committee meeting is scheduled to take place in two weeks and the matter should be discussed there.

“My concern is that in two weeks, it might already be done,” Dietrich said.

Human Service Director Ross Marcus confirmed the decision, but provided little clue to whether it would be too late to change things by the next committee meeting.

“There are changes being made, but we don't know if they'll be done,” he said.