Cottonwood Treatment Center prepares for privatized operations

With the beginning of the new year also comes the beginning of Cottonwood Residential Treatment Center's shift to a privatized facility.

A spokesperson for the Missouri Department of Mental Health confirmed Monday afternoon that the Community Counseling Center in Cape Girardeau is scheduled to assume operation of the facility Jan. 3.

For much of this year, Cottonwood, which treats children between the ages of 6 and 17 with severe emotional and mental needs, faced an uncertain future. A round of budget cuts made in the summer by Gov. Jay Nixon made its closure seem imminent until nearly half the funding was restored in September.

At that time, it was suddenly announced that Cottonwood no longer would be operated by Missouri's Department of Mental Health, but by the Community Counseling Center.

The nationally accredited center is a private, charitable, not-for-profit behavioral health organization that serves five counties in Southeast Missouri. It's funded in part by the Missouri Department of Mental Health, service fees, grants and the Cape Girardeau, Perry and Ste. Genevieve county mental health boards.

The new Cottonwood treatment system includes a 16-bed community psychiatric rehabilitation inpatient diversion children's residential treatment center. Under state operation, the facility maintained twice as many beds.

The transition also will include a combined total of six treatment-family and professional-parent homes. A treatment-family home features a homelike setting that provides intensive therapeutic interventions and can serve as many as three children at a time. A professional-parenting home provides intensive mental-health interventions and serves one child at a time.

The facility remains on the campus of Southeast Missouri State University.

srinehart@semissourian.com

388-3641

Pertinent address:

1025 N. Sprigg St., Cape Girardeau, Mo.