MAHONING COUNTY Counseling service cuts back to survive
Turning Point is expected to hire a new financial officer by Sept. 13.
By WILLIAM K. ALCORN
VINDICATOR STAFF WRITER
YOUNGSTOWN -- Turning Point Counseling Services' goal is to stop the financial bleeding by the end of 2004, said Joseph Sylvester, the agency's executive director.
Turning Point had an estimated $1.1 million deficit at the end of 2003 that led to several cost-cutting measures, including layoffs of employee and reduction in services.
In March, five employees, including one manager, were laid off. In June, three more managers were laid off and the chief financial officer resigned, bringing total staff reduction to nine, which Sylvester said will eventually cut costs by nearly $500,000 a year.
Additionally, as of Tuesday, Turning Point will turn over operation of Horizon House, a residential facility in Boardman for the mentally ill, to the Burdman Group, which operates long-term housing for the mentally ill.
Because of the deficit, partly caused by poor financial record keeping, officials said, Rea & amp; Associates, a public accounting and business consulting firm, was hired to assess Turning Point and oversee planning for its recovery.
Focus areas
Sylvester said Rea & amp; Associates identified several areas that need to be addressed if Turning Point is to return to fiscal soundness.
One is increasing productivity, which is the percentage of an employee's workday that can be billed to Medicaid or Medicare.
Another area of concern is making sure the agency bills for all services it provides, said Ron Marian, executive director of the Mahoning County Health Department, a major source of funds for Turning Point. He said Rea & amp; Associates found some $200,000 worth of services that had not been billed to Medicaid.
Sylvester expects a new chief financial officer to be hired by Sept. 13.
Also, Sylvester said Turning Point is pursuing new revenue sources, such as grants and private contracts.
Finally, Sylvester said, skyrocketing employee health care costs and declining morale caused by the merger are being addressed.
Cooperation
Sylvester said he is beginning to work with the unions on this and other issues. Management and contract employees are already sharing in the cost of health care by paying $75 a month for family and $25 a month for single coverage, he said.
There are several reasons for the financial difficulties that are beyond the control of the agency, Sylvester said.
"We're seeing more and more clients who can't pay for services at the same time as we are receiving fewer Medicaid and Medicare dollars," he said.
Also, he said additional dollars won't be available until the spring of 2005 from the 0.85-mill mental health replacement levy that was passed in November 2003. It will be collected in 2004 and distributed in 2005.
Turning Point has a good staff and board of directors, and this agency is not going down, he said.
But, he said, "we should have a better idea of our initiatives are working by January 2005, and by June 30, 2005, at the end of the fiscal year, we better be able to show progress."
alcorn@vindy.com