The Select Board Monday approved a three-year contract with the agency that is central to the town’s mental health resources.
The agreement with Eliot Community Human Services for $37,000 per year, is retroactive to July 1. The agreement covers co-pays and introductory visits, said Town Manager Sarah Stanton, and she added that the agency works with residents to address any insurance issues.
Heidi Porter, Director of the Department of Health and Human Services, told the Select Board that Eliot “provides really great service to the town.”
Needs have changed in recent years, Porter explained, and the new contract reflects that. “We now have a full-time clinician in the office,” she said, rather than a part-time person working various hours. The current professional’s specialty is “working with youth and adolescents, where we have seen the big uptick in need.”
Stanton emphasized, “For the first time in years we no longer have a wait list with Eliot.” Porter added, “We are well above last year for sessions provided and client numbers. We recognize that this new format is really going to benefit the community.”
Porter noted that Eliot also continues to provide a part-time clinician who sees adults. Other residents visit the home office in Concord. “We have good access to clinicians in this contract,” she stated. “These are the changes we hoped for – reduced wait time and increased outreach,” Stanton said.
The contract also provides four free community presentations, Porter said. The overall theme will be mental health, and the Youth and Family Services staff will identify specific topics. The first presentation will focus on de-escalation.
Mike Rosenberg can be reached at [email protected], or 781-983-1763
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