Supervisors advised of new grant awarded to Allamakee County for substance abuse prevention services; hear funding requests

by Bob Beach

During the regular meeting of the Allamakee County Board of Supervisors Monday, January 26, Allamakee County Substance Abuse Prevention (ASAP) Coordinator Jean Bossom reported that the County has been awarded a new grant from the Iowa Department of Public Health for substance abuse prevention services focused on reducing underage drinking. Bossom said the annual grant of approximately $46,000 will provide funding each of the next eight years for a new Allamakee Partnerships for Success program.
The Board also listened to funding requests for the coming fiscal year from Main Street Lansing and the Riverview Center. Main Street Lansing President Bruce Palmborg thanked the Board for its past financial support and for its assistance with getting Lansing's downtown district added to the National Register of Historic Places. Chairman Larry Schellhammer said that Lansing is "doing things that a lot of communities wish they could do," adding that the Board would consider the funding request during its budget discussions over the coming weeks.
Adriana Vasquez, bilingual advocate for the Riverview Center, told the Board that the Riverview Center provides a variety of services for victims of sexual abuse, including medical and legal advocacy, therapy, peer counseling and violence prevention education. Vasquez said that the funds requested for the next fiscal year would help pay for a full-time sexual abuse therapist for the five-county area that includes Allamakee, Chickasaw, Clayton, Howard and Winneshiek counties in northeast Iowa.
The Board also met with Case Management Administrator Kim Waters, who reviewed the agenda for the County Social Services (CSS) Board meeting scheduled for Wednesday, January 28. Among other items of note on the agenda, Waters said that the CSS Board would be discussing the resolution recently passed by the Allamakee County Board of Supervisors regarding the ongoing shortage of crisis stabilization beds and services. She also said that the Board would be discussing CSS Chief Executive Officer Bob Lincoln's proposal regarding continued and expanded use of the juvenile detention facility in Waterloo for adult crisis stabilization and "sub-acute" services.
In other business, the Board listened to a presentation from Solutions President Greg Davis, who reviewed the services his company provides. Davis pointed out that the cost of the services Solutions currently provides to the County for software, hardware and technical support will be increasing in the coming fiscal year but that some of those services would be upgraded while other efficiencies would help keep the anticipated cost increase to a minimum.