State Board of Mental Health officials said the likelihood ofshutting down the Mississippi Adolescent Center in Brookhaven isslim, but various questions about the facility’s operation and evenits mission prompted them to consider a possible closure whilefacing tough financial times.

Incoming State Board of Mental Health Chairwoman Dr. MargaretCassada said the board is looking at the possibility that servicesoffered at MAC, formerly known as the Juvenile RehabilitationFacility, could be redundant within the Mississippi Department ofMental Health. She said outside studies measuring the facility’ssuccess in treating young mental patients have rarely beenconducted, and MAC patients could possibly receive the sametreatment at other facilities within MDMH.

“There is redundancy in the system that dates back to the priordirector (Dr. Randy Hendrix) who had a concerted plan to build morebrick and mortar,” Cassada said. “We have all these facilities andmaybe we don’t need so many. Maybe we wouldn’t be spending so muchof the state’s money if we didn’t.”

Cassada said MAC and every other MDMH facility in the state needperiod check-ups to ensure quality, but the department historicallyhas not followed up consistently. She said similar problems ofredundancy exist throughout MDMH.

“When we have facilities that are at half capacity of halfstaffed, or we have facilities with buildings that are empty, whyare we not doing something to move them to other departments orsell them into someone else’s hands?” Cassada said. “Why do we justhang on to stuff that isn’t functioning? But why aren’t we studyingto see that it is functioning?”

Outgoing board member Dr. Patricia Ainsworth said MAC is alsohaving problems operating at capacity. She said MDMH has spaceavailable at other facilities to take on MAC’s patients, but theBrookhaven institution’s creating legislation limits it from takingon other patients.

“The problem we’re running into is we have cut and cut and cut,and at this point … there’s just no where else to cut,” Ainsworthsaid. “The question is going to be are we going to lose across theboard or are we going to look at one or more of our facilities notrunning at capacity. Money has a lot to do with all of thesedecisions at the point.”

With the state budget yet to be decided and more budget cuts tostate agencies a possibility for the fiscal year 2010, MDMH hasdeveloped contingency plans for 11 of its facilities – includingall of the newly-built crisis intervention centers – to operate at20 percent funding reductions. MDMH already lost millions in early2009 when Gov. Haley Barbour cut it and other state agencies by 5percent. MDMH has a total budget of $630 million.

MAC, however, is the only MDMH facility the board has asked todevelop a possible plan for closure. Closing MAC would free up alittle more than $5 million in the department’s budget, but itwould also leave more than 100 Southwest Mississippians without ajob.

The state board’s discussion on the possibility of closing MACat a monthly meeting last week was held in executive session,officials said, and many have refused to disclose the reasonsgiven.

At least one board member said problems at MAC may go beyondfinances.

“I don’t think it has anything to do with money,” said outgoingmember Dr. Henry Maggio.

Local board member Johnny Perkins said the board consideredclosing MAC because the facility has “too many problems.” Auditorsfrom the Mississippi Office of the State Auditor have been lookingat property issues at the facility over the last few weeks but noinvestigation was opened, said office spokeswoman LisaShoemaker.

Mental health officials said the audit was routine and conductedbecause of a leadership change at MAC. Long-time director ReginaTerry Hebert retired early this month and was replaced by interimdirector Marc Lewis.

Ainsworth confirmed that problems have been occurring at MAC andother MDMH facilities, but she did not elaborate.

“There are lots of rumors and personality issues up in the air,but I don’t think anybody can substantiate them,” she said.

Cassada said MAC may have become subject to “factionalism.”

“There’s been issues in that facility before that seem to mepretty petty,” she said. “I don’t know if that was going on in thatfacility, but there seems to be factions who think this andfactions who think that. I think we need to stop paying attentionto so much factionalism and focus on patient care and outcomes.That doesn’t just apply to MAC, that applies to all of them.”

Cassada said the threat of a Solomonic approach usually solvessuch problems.

“If they can’t start focusing on – and I don’t just mean MAC -if they can’t focus on what they’re supposed to be doing and whythey’re there, we can cut the baby in half,” she said. “Usually,when you present someone with a Solomonic situation, they say, ‘Youknow what, we can make this work.'”

But Cassada believes the baby will be spared. She pointed outthat closure decisions are made by the Legislature, not the stateboard.

“What I’ve learned in four years dealing with state governmentis once you build it, you fund it, and I don’t think it’s goinganywhere,” Cassada said.

LeGrand agrees.

“Don’t put too much credence in the plan for MAC,” he said. “Ithink it’s going to be a good exercise. I don’t think it will beimplemented. I’ve spent two months dealing with this on thespecialized treatment facility on the Gulf Coast. It’s stillopen.”