An agreement for a behavioral health entity to provide their services locally could be approved by the Roswell City Council when they meet on Thursday evening.
The council would decide whether to approve a budget adjustment of approximately $1.87 million in opioid settlement money for this much-needed form of local care before delving into specific costs and the content of the agreement between the city and one or more care providers.
During last week’s meeting of the Finance Committee, members recommended the matter be forwarded to the full council.
Councilor Cristina Arnold smiled with relief after the committee’s decision. It took more than two years to get this far. The ability for the city and county to focus on care for people instead of incarcerating them was a priority of the Jail Diversion Subcommittee of the Chaves County Behavioral Health Council.
Arnold and County Commissioner Dara Dana were the primary members of this group, which was ultimately turned over to the county’s Health Council. Unless the item is removed from the councilors’ consent agenda or voted down on Thursday, the opioid settlement money will be set aside for this purpose and the city will begin negotiating with LifeHouse to create a contract.
Arnold explained in a text response to an inquiry by the Daily Record on Tuesday that the city’s Legal Committee would review the final document before it returns to the council for a vote on it, perhaps when they meet in February.
Roswell will use the Eddy County request for proposals from 2023 as a template for its own contract. It’s possible that these services could be provided by the nonprofit Carlsbad LifeHouse Inc., which has operated behavioral healthcare services in Eddy County for about a decade. It could be the sole source or share these responsibilities with another area contractor.
LifeHouse Executive Director Philip Huston presented officials with a proposal in July. Huston returned to speak to the committee about what his provider envisions for this area within about 18 months.
The main operations would be a Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic and two sober living facilities providing $4 million in services to the community, with more than 200 clients served each month within 18 months, Huston said.
LifeHouse would need an estimated $2.5 million and facility support. The remaining amount could be funded with a grant. The $1.8 million provided by the city probably won’t be used within the first year, City Attorney Hess Yntema told committee members last week.
This contract would only run through the end of the current fiscal year, according to the report in the councilors’ agenda packet.
Roswell City Council meetings are held on the second Thursday of each month at 6 p.m. in the Chaves County Administrative Center, 1 St. Mary’s Place, in the Joseph K. Skeen Building commission chamber.