County commissioners to consider software designed to provide efficiency in behavioral health service delivery

The Douglas County commission meets in the historic courtroom on the second floor of the old county courthouse, 1100 Massachusetts St.

The Douglas County Commission will consider a request Wednesday from one of its members that it take Johnson County up on an offer to provide a software program designed to provide the more efficient delivery of behavioral health services.

Commissioner Nancy Thellman said she would ask her two fellow commissioners to instruct county staff to work with Johnson County to bring My Resource Connection to Douglas County. She said the software program would be a valuable asset in providing efficient treatment to high-volume users of behavioral health services.

In an April presentation to commissioners, Chris Schneweis, senior management analyst for Johnson County, said the software program Johnson County developed allows case managers and probation officers to search for what services a client is receiving. In addition, the program allows case mangers to locate agencies in the United Way database that provide food, shelter and transportation.

Johnson County would share the program at a “nominal” cost, Schneweis said. Johnson County developed My Resource Connection after a 1999 audit found gaps in services provided by the county, as well as duplications and inefficiencies in service delivery, which had one Johnson County resident receiving services from 27 different agencies and 17 case managers.

Thellman said case managers in various agencies, Lawrence Memorial Hospital emergency room staff and probation officers could use My Resource Connection to quickly learn what services a person was receiving or had received in the past.

With confidentiality concerns in mind, access to the program and its information would be limited, Thellman said.

The County Commission will reconvene at 6 p.m. to consider a conditional use permit request from Valerie and Dwane Richardson to permit small scale industrial uses on their property at 2138 North 1000 Road. The couple manufacture Richardson Jumpstarters on the property three miles south of Eudora.

The Richardsons started the business with a home occupant business permit, but the operation has outgrown that permit’s scope.

The request comes to commissioners with the Lawrence-Douglas County Planning Commission’s recommendation of approval. Recommended conditions include the business be limited to one 10,000-square-foot building, have no more than 15 full-time non-resident employees and there be no overnight manufacturing activity.

The Douglas County Commission meets at 4 p.m. Wednesday in the Douglas County Courthouse, 1100 Massachusetts St. A complete agenda can be viewed at douglascountyks.org.