About Us

The Mental Health and Recovery Board (MHRB) is a public agency organized under Chapter 340 of the Ohio Revised Code and created to establish a unified system of mental health and addiction recovery services for citizens of Belmont, Harrison and Monroe Counties.

The Mental Health and Recovery Board (MHRB) is a branch of county government which is authorized and defined in the Ohio Revised Code, Section 340.  It was created to establish a unified system of mental health and addiction recovery services for citizens of Belmont, Harrison and Monroe Counties. County boards do not provide direct clinical services, but rather purchase those services, primarily from local community agencies.

County boards are responsible to determine local needs, develop a community plan, set priorities, direct resources and monitor services in their district. This provides an opportunity to create integrated systems of care that are most responsive to the needs and desires of the local citizens. This is important because characteristics of counties vary widely and there is a mix of urban, suburban and rural areas in Ohio that makes a “one-size-fits-all” approach particularly ineffective.

 

The MHRB exist by Ohio Statutes to do the following:

  • Assess local needs
  • Develop a community plan
  • Set priorities
  • Oversee and evaluate providers
  • Assure that rights of service recipients and community members are respected.

Where does the Board get its funding?

The board receives all of the public (state and federal) funding available to Belmont, Harrison and Monroe Counties for mental health and addiction services. Funds for the operation of the mental health and recovery system comes from three basic sources:

 

Federal monies channeled through the Ohio Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services (OhioMHAS)

 

  • State dollars appropriated by the legislature and administered through OhioMHAS
  • Local funds raised from levies, fees and donations.  Most of the money available to the Board is used to pay the contracted agencies for services and facilities.  Funds also support the Board’s administrative operation.