The Alcohol, Drug Addiction and Mental Health Services Board of Hancock County was commissioned by the State of Ohio for the purpose of planning, monitoring and funding mental health and alcohol/drug recovery services for the residents of Hancock County. The volunteer board is comprised of eighteen Hancock County residents who are appointed by the Ohio Department of Mental Health, the Ohio Department of Alcohol and Drug Addiction Services and the Hancock County Commissioners.

Our Mission

"To improve our community by reducing the incidence of mental health problems and eliminating the abuse of alcohol and other drugs in Hancock County through a locally administered, publicly funded system."

The Hancock County Board of Alcohol, Drug Addiction and Mental Health Services is the local substance abuse and mental health planning authority for Hancock County. As a form of local government, the Board is the County's forum for the review and negotiation of policies and allocations that direct our community treatment and prevention system. The most unique aspect of the care and financing system for behavioral health services is the presence of a distinct, substantial, complex, and publicly financed delivery system that serves as a safety net. Thus, public services are available for those with public insurance, as well as for those who have private insurance. The Board is unique from other private sector and public sector agencies in that it is to be the local safety net for residents with behavioral health needs.

Board Contact Information

Hancock County Board of Alcohol, Drug Addiction and Mental Health Services
438 Carnahan Ave.
Findlay, OH 45840
Phone: (419) 424-1985
Fax: (419) 424-2037
Hours: M - F, 8a.m. - 4:30p.m.

Board Staff

Precia Shenk Stuby, Executive Director
Paul Lilley, Deputy Director
Rob Verhoff, Fiscal Manager
Amber Wolfrom, Systems Developer
Andrea Altman, Executive Assistant/Public Information Coordinator
Cheryl Preston, Office Assistant

Meeting Schedule

Monthly Board Meeting

Date: 3rd Thursday of the month at 4:00 PM
Location: 438 Carnahan Ave., Findlay, Ohio

Administrative Committee of the Board Meeting

Date: 2nd Tuesday of the month at 4:00 to 5:30 PM
Location: 438 Carnahan Ave., Findlay, Ohio

Program Committee

Date: 2nd Tuesday of the month at 9:00-10:30 AM
Location: 438 Carnahan Ave., Findlay, Ohio

Finance Committee

Date: 3rd Wednesday of the month at 7:30 – 9:00 AM
Location: 438 Carnahan Ave., Findlay, Ohio

Community Partnership Council Meeting

Date: 3rd Tuesday of the month at 3:00 PM
Location: 438 Carnahan Ave., Findlay, Ohio

The Community Partnership

The Community Partnership is a network of community volunteers, who work to develop strategies to increase education and awareness in Hancock County regarding substance abuse and prevention. The Partnership serves as a catalyst to mobilize the community, but not as a provider of direct services. The partnership is comprised of "systems," which represent all segments of our community. Current systems include Education, Health & Human Services, Judicial/Law Enforcement, Public Awareness, Recreation, and Spiritual. The Community Partnership was established in the fall of 1990 by a five-year grant from the US Department of Health and Human Services Center for Abuse Prevention. Since January 1, 1996, the Hancock County ADAMHS Board has provided the funding to maintain the Community Partnership.

Client's Rights

1. The right to be treated with consideration and respect for personal dignity, autonomy, and privacy.
2. The right to service in a humane setting which is the least restrictive feasible as defined in the treatment plan.
3. The right to be informed of one's own condition, of proposed or current services, treatment or therapies, and of the alternatives.
4. The right to consent to or refuse any service, treatment, or therapy upon full explanation of the expected consequences of such consent or refusal. A parent or legal guardian may consent to or refuse any service, treatment or therapy on behalf of a minor client.
5. The right to a current, written, individualized service plan that addresses one's own mental health, physical health, social and economic needs, and that specifies the provision of appropriate and adequate services, as available, either directly or by referral.
6. The right to active and informed participation in the establishment, periodic review, and reassessment of the medication.
7. The right to freedom from unnecessary or excessive medication.
8. The right to freedom from unnecessary restraint or seclusion.
9. The right to participate in any appropriate and available agency service, regardless of refusal of one or more other services, treatments, or therapies, or regardless of relapse from earlier treatment in that or another service, unless there is valid and specific necessity which precludes and/or requires the client's participation in other services. This necessity shall be explained to the client and written in the client's current service plan.
10. The right to be informed of and refuse any unusual or hazardous treatment procedures.
11. The right to be advised of and refuse observation by techniques such as one-way vision mirrors, tape recorders, televisions, movies, or photographs.
12. The right to have the opportunity to consult with independent treatment specialists or legal counsel, at one's own expense.
13. The right to confidentiality of communications and of all personally identifying information within the limitations and requirements for disclosure of various funding and/or certifying sources, state or federal statutes, unless release of information is specifically authorized by the client or parent or legal guardian of a minor client or court-appointed guardian of the person of an adult client in accordance with rule 5122:2-3-11 of the Administrative Code.
14. The right to have access to one's own psychiatric, medical or other treatment records, unless access to particular identified items of information is specifically restricted for that individual client for clear treatment reasons in the client's treatment plan. "Clear treatment reasons" shall be understood to mean only severe behavior is an imminent risk. The person restricting the information shall explain to the client and other persons authorized by the client the factual information about the individual client that necessitates the restriction. The restriction must be renewed at least annually to retain validity. Any person authorized by the client has unrestricted access to all information. Clients shall be informed in writing of agency policies and procedures for viewing or obtaining copies of personal records.
15. The right to be informed in advance of the reason(s) for discontinuance of service provision, and to be involved in planning for the consequences of that event.
16. The right to receive an explanation of the reasons for denial of services.
17. The right not to be discriminated against in the provision of service on the basis of religion, race, color, creed, sex, national origin, age, lifestyle, physical or mental handicap, development disability, or inability to pay.
18. The right to know the cost of services.
19. The right to be fully informed of all rights.
20. The right to exercise any and all rights without reprisal in any form including continued uncompromised access to service.
21. The right to file a grievance.
22. The right to have oral and written instructions for filing a grievance.

Effective August 1987

Grievance Policy

1. Any client or parent/guardian of a minor client of a contracting agency may file a grievance with the Board within a reasonable period of time from the date the grievance occurred.
2. The Hancock County ADAMHS Board Executive Director shall be designated Client Rights Office for the Board. The alternate shall be the Deputy Director.
3. The Board's grievance procedures shall be available upon request.
4. Upon receiving a complaint, the Board Client Rights Officer shall determine if an attempt for resolution had been made at the agency level. If this had not been done, the Board Client Rights Officer would suggest that the Agency Client Rights Officer be contacted immediately. With written permission of the client or parent/ guardian, the Board Client Rights Officer would alert the Agency Client Rights Officer of the pending contact. If the client or parent/guardian refuses to contact the Agency Client Rights Officer, the Board Client Rights Office will follow the grievance procedures as described in item 5.
5. If the Agency grievance procedures were followed without resolution, the Board Client Rights Office will promptly gather facts from the Client or parent/guardian. All other parties will be contacted and attempts will be made for a quick resolution. If there is a resolution, a written statement of the results will be given to the Client and the Agency, with the Client or parent/guardian's permission.
6. Resolution of the grievance shall be attempted within twenty (20) working days from the date the grievance has been filed.
7. The Client or parent/guardian shall have the option to initiate a complaint with any or all of the following: Ohio Department of Mental Health; Ohio Legal Rights Services; U.S. Department of Health and Human Services; Attorney General's Office; Governor's Office of Advocacy for People with Disabilities; and State licensing or regulatory boards. A list of the organizations with proper addresses and telephones shall be given to the Client or parent/guardian upon request. (See Attachment II).
8. Any relevant information about the grievance shall be made available, upon written request and the client or parent/guardian's permission, to the contacted organizations listed in Item 7.
9. The Board shall keep records of grievances it receives, the type of grievances and the resolution status of the grievance. It shall also assure the availability of these records for review by the Ohio Department of Mental Health upon request.

Effective August 21, 1987

Complaint Policy

The Hancock County Board of Alcohol, Drug Addiction and Mental Health Services has an open door policy whereby individuals and/or groups of individuals may contact the Board with complaints related to contract services.

Whenever possible, the Board will obtain the identification of the individual and/or groups of individuals, however anonymous complaints will also be acknowledged.

Contract agencies will be notified of any complaint (s) filed with the Board and whenever possible, the Board will redirect the individual and/or group of individuals to the appropriate contracting agency for resolution. Any contacts regarding client rights will be handled according to the client rights policy of the Board.

This Policy does not supersede any existing grievance policy and procedure.

Complaint Procedures

The Board staff will adhere to the following procedure when receiving a complaint from an individual and/or group of individuals:

1. The Board will request a written complaint. If the individual and/or group of individuals choose to remain anonymous, he/she may do so. Documentation is to be provided on the Board complaint form.
2. The appropriate contracting agency(ies) will be notified of the complaint and the response of the Board staff to the individual and/or group of individuals within five (5) working days of receiving the complaint. A copy of the complaint form will be forwarded to the agency.
3. The agency shall respond to the complaint within 20 working days of notification of the complaint. This includes a written response to the individual and/or group of individuals if consent has been received and a forwarding address provided. A copy of the Agency response shall be sent to the Board.
4. The Board will maintain a complaint file and provide a summary of complaints received regarding each contracting agency. The summary will include:
   1. The number of complaints received.
   2. Nature of complaints received.
   3. Resolution status of the complaint.

Summaries will be forwarded to contracting agencies by August 15 of every year and/or a request of the contracting agency, and should be utilized as part of the program planning/evaluation and quality assurance efforts.

Effective February 21, 1991.

Download a copy of our Complaint Form (23k word document).

North Central Action Network launches new website

The North Central Action Network has just rolled out a youth-driven “mental health awareness” website. The website provides a variety of information for kids with links to kid-friendly web sites. Links exist for information about depression, suicide, Attention Deficit/Hyper-Active Disorder (ADHD), Alcohol and other Drugs (AOD) and several other issues facing youth.

The site also contains links to youth chat rooms, artwork and hosts audio files of kids talking about living with certain conditions. Kids can also test their knowledge on depression by reading brief profiles of fictitious youth and answering questions to see if the youth was simply sad or has clinical depression. If you have kids- you might want to visit the site with them for the first time.

Visit the Children's Mental Health Information website.

View a list of Hancock County Service Providers.