Job loss possible as Joinder shifts some functions to private providers
WILLIAMSPORT — Up to 35 employees could be furloughed in the coming months as a two-county agency transitions from being a provider of certain mental health and intellectual disabilities services to an overseer of private organizations that will take over the functions.
The Lycoming-Clinton Joinder Board has informed six supervisors and 29 caseworkers they could be losing their jobs, Executive Director Keith A. Wagner said Tuesday.
The board, which consists of the commissioners of the two counties, is ending its mental health and intellectual disabilities (MH/ID) program that is funded through Medicaid.
Wagner attributed the changes to funding changes at the state level that he said do not fit with the Joinder Board’s MH/ID program.
The termination announcement has caused some panic among the more than 800 clients, he said.
Staff is trying to reassure them their services will continue but by a new provider and possibly with a new caseworker, he said.
“I know it’s a shock to people,” Wagner said. “We’re going to go very slow so no one gets lost,” he said. He would like the transition to be underway by June 30, he said.
The board will arrange presentations for clients by the private agencies so they can make an informed decision when choosing a provider, he said.
The board has advised those who will be furloughed to apply to the private providers as they will need staff, he said.
They also may apply for the 19 administrative caseworkers the board will need to oversee the services provided by the private entities, he said.
“The board is providing salary and benefit information to the private providers so they have an idea of what applicants will be seeking,” Wagner said.
Joinder board salaries and benefits mirror those of employees of the two counties but are not the same, he explained.
The transition does not affect non-Medicaid-funded mental health and intellectual disabilities services offered by the Joinder Board in the two counties, he said.
They include Lycoming Children and Youth Services, Lycoming-Clinton Children and Adolescent System Services Program (CASSP), Lycoming-Clinton Early Intervention, Lycoming-Clinton HealthChoices, crisis services and group homes, he said.