Apace and Region V present annual reports for county board

​YORK – This last week in York County, the commissioners met with representatives of Apace and Region V as they made their annual reports.
Matt Kasik explained how Apace is the largest provider of developmental disability services. During the last year, 31 people were served in York County, five people were competitively employed, seven shared living providers. Apace has 38 employees, working for the agency, in York County.
“We appreciate the relationship we have with the York County board,” Kasik said. “Our budget request continues to be zero because funding continues to be through Medicaid. You provide oversight which is worth so much.”
He also thanked Commissioner Deb Robertson for serving on their board, as each county has a representative on that governing body.
Patrick Kreifels represented Region V, which is one of Nebraska’s six behavioral health regions. Region V Systems was originally created by state statute in 1974 as a quasi-governmental entity with the responsibility of coordinating and overseeing the delivery of publicly funded mental health services for the 16 counties making up the region 5 Systems geographical area. Two years later, the legislature added responsibility to each of the regions for the development and coordination of substance use services. In 20024, a bill was passed, repealing the original statutes but re-establishing and renaming the regions as behavioral health authorities, which make up the state’s public  behavioral health system.
One of the agency’s most notable roles is how it works with local law enforcement in providing Emergency Protective Custody (EPC) services.
He also thanked Robertson for serving on their board. Kreifels noted his agency would be making the same budget request from the county as it has in the past – about $36,000.