Board approves in-house respite care expansion at Youth & Family Services with 3 new behavioral health FTEs

Johnson County commissioners voted unanimously to authorize three full-time behavior-health specialist positions at the Johnson County Mental Health Center to provide respite care services for children and adolescents at the Youth and Family Services (YFS) facility.

The Department of Mental Health presented the proposal and staff argued that providing respite in-house will be an effective and cost-efficient option compared with contracting out the service. Department staff said the program will make better use of the county-run YFS facility and preserve capacity for related behavioral-health services.

Commissioners asked about return on investment. The department projected that, assuming a phased increase in bed use and conservative Medicaid reimbursement assumptions, the program could show a positive ROI (staff cited a figure of up to 129.9% in 2026 under assumptions that beds reach capacity and staffing phases in). Commissioners said they supported keeping families together and noted respite services can prevent out-of-home placements.

The motion to hire 3 FTE behavioral health specialists was moved by Commissioner Allen Brand and seconded by Commissioner Hanslick; the board approved the request on a unanimous roll-call vote.