Bourbon County Inter-Agency Coalition

General Membership Meeting Minutes

November 5, 2025

1.  Welcome: Seventeen members representing fifteen agencies attended the meeting held at the Scottview Apartments Conference Room.

Coalition Board News: There is an open seat on the Coalition Board.  Reach out to Nick if you are interested.

1.  Member Introductions and Announcements:

• Jalaine Davis – Bourbon County Core – Core is looking for any resources to help their families.
• Cherrie Walrod – K State Extension – Community Health Worker
• Lora Wilson CHC/SEK Community Health Worker
• Theresa Amershek – Safehouse – Child Exchange & Visit Center
• Kelly Stammer – DCF
• Tammy Alcantar – Crawford County Health Department -Health Dept. is still doing the  Baby and Me Tobacco Free program.  Prenatal class offered for area counties.
• Craig Campbell- Good Neighbor Action Team- GNAT builds wheelchair ramps, paints houses, assists with grants, and works with the codes department to help individuals in Fort Scott. GNAT has received requests to build ramps from several communities.  Craig would like to teach groups in other communities how to do wheelchair projects.  GNAT averages building a wheelchair ramp once every 10 days.
• Gayla Mendenhall & Janelle Tate – Early Childhood Block Grant – No updates, just working on the grant.
• Riley Knavel – SEK Mental Health Center – coordinator for mental health crisis team
• Bryan Cook – SEK MHC Crisis Response Director
• Michelle Stevenson – Early Childhood Coordinator – Fort Scott Early Childhood Program- Home visiting program for ages prenatal-6. Check child development and provide socialization events.  Will have a couple of openings soon.
• Ashley Reeder – SEKMHC
• Lauren Klinksick- Angels Care Home Health – Offer skilled nursing and therapies at home. The disease management program is focusing on Alzheimer’s and Dementia this month.
• Shelby Moore- Families Together FAST Program – Shelby helps families navigate the special education process.
• Patty Simpson – Fort Scott Housing Authority – There is currently a short waiting list for all units, but taking applications for all units.
• Shanna McClure- DCF – Shanna provided handouts and information related to the government shutdown and its effect on families. The DCF website has a link at the top of the homepage to provide updates on the government shutdown.  It also contains links to food resources across the state.  The LIEAP program is currently in limbo.  SNAP program – emergency funds have been approved for use in November, waiting for information from the state to be able to send out benefits.  DCF encourages those needing assistance to apply now instead of waiting until funds are released.

1.  Program: 

Bryan Cook – Southeast Kansas Mental Health Center – Mental Health Crisis Director

Mobile Crisis Response is a new program for SEKMHC.   The crisis team has been in place informally for the past year.  They formally began and have been collecting data for the last three months. Services are available 24/7 and can be obtained by calling 988 or SEKMHC’s crisis hotline.   There is no cost for mobile Crisis Response, as it is state funded.  There is no age limit for these services. Callers 16 and above can consent for themselves. Guardian consent is required for children under 16.  SEKMHC covers Bourbon, Linn, Allen, Neosho, Woodson, and Anderson counties in Southeast Kansas.   The team is averaging about 20 calls per month.

Mental health professionals previously completed screenings in ER, jail, police station, etc.  Patients had to meet certain requirements to be seen.  Results weren’t great, situations often ended in an ER visit or police intervention.  The Mobile Crisis Response is less formal.  Team members will meet people wherever they are located.   There is no restriction on the location of services- home, park, library, nursing home, jail, courthouse, school, etc. Staff represent each geographic region, so response is quick – ideally under 1 hour.  The team is currently averaging reaching people in under half an hour.  Response can range from a few minutes to several hours and can include multiple visits if requested. SEKMHC can respond to most needs (suicidal thoughts, homicidal thoughts, or just having a rough day).  The crisis is not defined by mental health staff; it is defined by the person calling for help.   The crisis response team usually deploys teams of case managers to answer calls with licensed clinicians on standby if needed.  Some people prefer to work with case managers, others prefer licensed therapists. The team prefers to go out without law enforcement when possible, but also respond with law enforcement.  Law enforcement can reach out to the crisis team at any time.

The crisis team utilizes a strengths-based, motivational interview approach, which is warm and person-centered.  This approach does not place any demands on the caller unless there is an immediate need.  This approach also helps the team get invited back.  The goal is to involve all natural supports already available and connect callers to other resources.  Families overwhelmed with behavior escalations are the most frequent for youth.  The team works closely with foster care and DCF. One main goal is to help people cut down on more restrictive outcomes such as ER visits, police/court involvement, and/or psychiatric admissions.  So far, data indicates that crisis response has been able to help people stay in their homes. The team operates on guiding principles: “There is no wrong door” and “Just Go”.  This reduces formalities in the system.

1.  Open Forum:  Nothing further came before the membership.

1.  Adjournment:  The next General Membership meeting will be December 3, 2025.