For Immediate Release: December 5, 2024
CONTACT: Kate Black, [email protected], 320-423-2344
CARVER COUNTY, MINNESOTA- After months of meetings, appeals to Carver County Health and Human Services leadership and County administration, the Carver County Board will consider in their December 17th board meeting a vote to end the county’s Mental Health Crisis Team and outsource the work to a private contractor.
The publication of recent work from the National Association of Counties speaks to the nationwide effort to focus on county response to mental health in our communities. AFSCME members in the roles of Social Workers and Crisis Therapists help in Carver County Dispatch/PSAP, in local clinics, the Carver County Jail and Juvenile Detention Center to aid in client care, assist in safety recommendations, complete assessments, make placement recommendations and to help struggling community members. Members answer after-hour Child Protection calls and coordinate with on-call staff; provide follow-up calls to check in with clients ; partner with First Street Center and provide support calls to clients who receive therapy, psychiatry, or case management services; and partner with Adult Protection, Child Protection, Children's Case management, and Probation to help assist them with clients who may need increased support or safety concerns. It’s clear that the Crisis Team's service and partnership is essential to the community of Carver County.
The County’s own mission statement for the program is to “Provide intense community based service as an alternative/prevention to a higher level of care; stabilize the immediate crisis and help to restore a pre-crisis level of functioning; promote resiliency, hope, as well as access to treatment and services.” A potential decision to outsource the work of the Mental Health Crisis Team flies in the face of the County’s own mission statement and would displace an entire team of dedicated county staff.
AFSCME Local 2789 member & Crisis Therapist Kelly Wilkinson says of the county’s consideration of outsourcing of this critical work -“While it may save the county some money, we don’t believe it would offer the same level of care, concern and follow through that the Crisis Team offers. With the longevity of the Crisis Team workers, we have built relationships with many other Carver employees in various departments and community stakeholders.”
AFSCME members are asking community allies to sign a petition, contact Carver County’s Board of Commissioners, and to attend the Carver County Board meeting at 10am on December 17th to speak against this potential outsourcing of public work and will communicate further updates.
AFSCME Council 65 represents more than 15,000 public service workers across Minnesota, South Dakota & North Dakota.
