Stanislaus County’s mental health director to retire in July

Stanislaus County is recruiting for a new department manager to oversee mental health services and addiction recovery programs.

Madelyn Schlaepfer, director of Behavioral Health and Recovery Services, plans to retire in July after leading the county department since March 2011. She has worked for the county for 38 years and was promoted when former Director Denise Hunt retired.

“The county is greater for her years of service to our community,” county Chief Executive Officer Stan Risen said. “She leaves a department that has been recognized at the state level as being very innovative.”

The county has hired an executive search firm to find qualified candidates for director of the department. The advertised salary range is from $129,500 to $194,300 a year.

It is considered a critical position for the county. Last year, the unit’s budget was $104 million, and the department had 439 employees. It has a contract with Doctors Behavioral Health Center on Claus Road for inpatient care to stabilize patients and has a 16-bed psychiatric health facility in Ceres.

The department also manages outpatient services and crisis emergency response, and it oversees community-based mental health supports funded through the Proposition 63 millionaires’ tax in California.

According to a recruitment flier, the county is looking for “a leader with passion, experience, vision and dedication to serving our community.” The county needs a professional with expertise in delivering mental health and recovery programs and managing complex budgets.

An in-depth report in The Modesto Bee last fall found that hospital emergency departments in Stanislaus County have seen a sharp rise in encounters with people with mental disorders. The number of “5150” sheriff’s dispatches for people with psychotic symptoms, who are violent or suicidal, jumped 40 percent from 2012 to 2014.

Schlaepfer, who is in her 60s, said that recent events in her life were a factor in her decision to retire. “It made me think I don’t want to work like this for the rest of my life,” she said.

The Colorado native began working for the county in 1978, starting out as a child clinical psychologist in Turlock and Ceres. She worked in senior management for more than 15 years and was associate director of BHRS before her promotion in 2011.

Under her leadership, BHRS developed a plan for dealing with a surge in psychiatric hospitalizations, which led to building the psychiatric health facility that opened in March 2014.

Schlaepfer said the department will face some challenges, including legislation to reform the continuum of care system and changes to how the county deals with foster children.

The next director also will be involved with Focus on Prevention, an effort to get different sectors involved with reducing homelessness and strengthening families in Stanislaus County. “Some of our most difficult individuals we serve are homeless,” Schlaepfer said.

This story was originally published May 19, 2016 at 1:59 PM with the headline "Stanislaus County’s mental health director to retire in July."