By Taylor Sisk
Staff Writer
Citing insufficient funding from the state, Caring Family Network – the primary provider of mental health treatment in Orange, Person and Chatham counties – announced it will be discontinuing most of its services within the next month.
Caring Family Network is a private agency that contracts to provide mental health and substance abuse services through the OPC Area Program. OPC is a local government agency tasked with providing oversight and management of mental health, developmental disability and substance abuse services in the three counties. Prior to last spring, Caring Family Network had been serving approximately 1,000 clients in Orange County.
In May, the organization announced that due in large measure to rate cuts by the state for community support services it would be restructuring its services. The Medicaid rate reimbursed to organizations providing community support services previously had been $60.96 an hour and was reduced to $51.28. In June, it then announced a cutback in services.
Caring Family Network has now announced that community support and outpatient services will be discontinued at the end of this month and psychiatric and nursing services will no longer be provided after March 10, while therapeutic foster care homes will remain open.
Jim Martin, who previously served as director of Caring Family Network’s Chapel Hill clinic, has been hired by OPC to oversee the transition of services. He said that OPC is currently in negotiations with two providers to pick up the Caring Family Network’s service capacities in Orange County.
“I’m optimistic that we’re going to get through this transition,†he said. “Obviously, it’s a big process, but we have a plan in place and we’re going to work through it.â€