Two commissions within the Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services (SRS) have come together to fund a pilot project providing treatment to persons in central and western Kansas with co-occurring problems of severe and persistent mental illness and substance abuse.

The commissions of Alcohol and Drug Abuse Services and Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities will jointly fund a Dually Diagnosed Treatment Center at Prairie View Inc., a Community Mental Health Center based in Newton.

Prairie View will receive a $250,000 grant from the two commissions to serve clients in a three-county catchment area of McPherson, Harvey and Marion counties. Prairie View also acts as a regional provider and will serve clients from the entire 52-county Larned State Hospital catchment area in western Kansas.

Funding not only will be used to treat people with this dual diagnosis through a variety of means including partial hospitalization and outpatient services, but also to develop a model for these services that is expected to be replicated in other rural areas.

"Until recently, few agencies provided services for persons with a dual diagnosis of mental illness and substance abuse," said Connie Hubbell, commissioner of Mental Health/Developmental Disabilities. "Central and western Kansas are particularly underserved. Individuals needing help often fell through the cracks or were seen as too difficult to serve. In addition, few opportunities exist for cross-training of staff."

Andrew O’Donovan, commissioner of Alcohol and Drug Abuse Services for SRS, said in the past, agencies in these separate fields often did not serve each other’s clients.

"There have been separate funding streams and separate treatment models," he said. "The key with this grant is to bring the two sides together and show how to provide treatment for folks with both of these problems."

O’Donovan pointed out that national statistics show persons with co-occurring disorders are high users of emergency departments, crisis intervention, police and court systems. They also are at high risk for suicide.

Pat Swartzendruber, vice president of marketing and development for Prairie View, said the timing of the grant award was excellent for them.

"Two years ago, we initiated special preparation and training for qualified staff to treat both mental disorders and drug and alcohol addiction," she said. "We hoped to serve as a model to disseminate information to other agencies and providers who also treat this population.

"We are pleased to be able to serve this population and honored to be a partner with two SRS commissions," she added.

Page Last Updated: May 29, 2001