Chronicle Editorial

By: 
Chronicle Staff

Warehouse closing sheds light on federal regulation of mental health programs
     Since 1976, Access, Inc. has been providing its prevocational workshop program to clients in Franklin County. The program has provided those with mental or intellectual disabilities, or those recovering from brain injuries the opportunity to learn common work place and social skills, while offering monetary compensation to those who would not be able to perform in other industries.
     As The Chronicle has reported in this issue, as of January 1 of 2017, the program will no longer be offered, due to federal regulations, implemented in 2014. These regulations restructure what is permissible under Medicaid covered Home and Community-Based Services (HCBS).
     Access, Inc. has said that its workshop programming cannot meet the mandates of the federal regulations, requiring that those receiving these prevocational services must be in an integrated environment that creates a mixed environment of those with disabilities, and those who do not.
     The legislation of 2014 follows the growing trend in the way the federal government treats mental health, with more insurance companies offering access to mental health treatments and care, even pushing to access how mental health care is used in medical diagnosis.
     As the general public becomes more and more comfortable and overcomes the stigmatization of mental health conditions, the question of what to do about mental health in our country becomes more imperative in answering.
     The federal regulations that will close the workshop program are a Catch-22.
     While it is undeniably understandable that the government wants to stay away from the marred reputations and pasts of asylums and institution, there is also the concern of being without a truly helpful service for those that need it most.
     No one can argue that prior methods of mental care in this country have led to numerous human rights violations, and proved to be ineffective at managing those with mental disabilities, and it is a big step for the country to be able to recognize the past and improve upon it.
     However, as The Chronicle has reported, approximately 30-40 people will be without a menial source of income, and be without the opportunity to develop skills in a closed environment, free from external societal pressures.
     There are 25 clients of Access, Inc. who will be without this prevocational service, and who some of those do not yet have the workplace or social skills to be successful in an integrated work place, leaving only habilitation care. Not to mention the sudden source of income that though not at a federal minimum wage level, still offers the opportunity to earn money.
     Access, Inc. has a 40-year history with Franklin County. They provide care to over 60 clients and have done so throughout its tenure here. It has done an amazing job in the community; the situation is just a tough pill to swallow.
     While the move for more integrated care is a successful step in the country, it opens the door to a larger problem in its essence: integration.
     Federal regulations are mandating integration in areas across the country that are not yet set up to be integrated. It appears that the regulations were passed down to care providers, but not to the communities of these providers. This is an improper balance of responsibility, in which care providers receive more liability, while communities — while mostly not desiring these service providers to dissolve programs — have not yet set up integrated centers or programs of their own to absorb the result of these regulations.
     Mental health care in the country has a long way to go; and the focus on legislation should be on preparing communities for integration. 

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