Stanislaus County’s new mental health director praised for ‘focus on solutions’

Along with overseeing a department with a $109 million annual budget, a 16-bed psychiatric facility and contract with the behavioral center on Claus Road, Richard DeGette is expected to get involved with Focus on Prevention, an effort to address Stanislaus County’s intractable social conditions.

DeGette, 56, was hired as the new director of county Behavioral Health and Recovery Services after Madelyn Schlaepfer retired in July. He took over the position last month at an annual salary of $155,000.

“Another large goal of the department is to identify an optimal way to partner with Focus on Prevention,” DeGette said.

Though it was too early for him to comment on the community engagement effort, the new director said a mental health component for the initiative needs to include early intervention and “secondary” prevention. That is needed to keep individuals in the early stages of a disorder from getting worse, he said, so they don’t become homeless or run into trouble with the law.

The county launched Focus on Prevention in 2015 to work on critical issues such as preventing homelessness, strengthening families, supporting young people and breaking cycles of crime. Ten different sectors of the community – among them business, education and the faith community – are participating in the initiative, which recognizes that government alone can’t tackle the problems.

DeGette brings more than 25 years of experience in the behavioral health field to Stanislaus County. He was director of vocational services for Alameda County’s large mental health department, overseeing employment programs for clients. Before that, he oversaw contract services and homeless outreach for Solano County.

As a consultant, DeGette worked closely with the state Department of Mental Health, assisting counties with developing supportive education and human services programs.

In Alameda County, he was principal manager of a successful project that enabled people to obtain and keep jobs despite their psychiatric disabilities.

Participants were placed in jobs that matched their interests and abilities, DeGette said. Alameda County was a partner in the innovative program with 20 states and foreign countries including Italy, the Netherlands and Spain.

“We used evidenced-based practices,” DeGette said. “I am hoping to see if it could fit in with the service array in Stanislaus County.”

DeGette was among 67 applicants from California and other states in a national recruitment for the Stanislaus County job. A screening process narrowed the field to 20, and six candidates were chosen for formal interviews and discussion sessions.

Candidates also were interviewed by the county Mental Health Board.

“We are really pleased to have Rick DeGette,” said county Chief Operations Officer Patty Hill Thomas. “We were incredibly impressed with his ability to focus on solutions.”

The new director said the county is in the process of filling two key management positions in BHRS. One is an assistant director to oversee contracts and the other will manage substance abuse disorder programs.

DeGette will lead a department that has an eight-member senior management team and 450 staff members. He’s in charge of the overall department budget, and watches over budgeting and funding for alcohol and drug programs, managed care, Mental Health Services Act programs, public guardian and conservatorship, and Stanislaus Recovery Center.

The director also works closely with local officials and state and federal agencies.

This story was originally published October 8, 2016 at 3:29 PM with the headline "Stanislaus County’s new mental health director praised for ‘focus on solutions’."