Mental Health Commission has new director

The Missouri Mental Health Commission on Thursday announced the replacement for retiring Department of Mental Health director Keith Schafer.

Mark Stringer, a longtime department employee, was selected for the position and will assume the role July 1.

The 60-day national search for the director was conducted by a 12-member advisory panel consisting of representatives from statewide behavioral health and developmental disabilities organizations, according to a news release from the department.

The panel reviewed applications, interviewed qualified candidates and recommended individuals to the commission, which conducted interviews and made the final decision.

Stringer has worked closely with Schafer since 2007, the news release said, and "will continue to provide a similar style of the leadership."

He has served with the department for 16 years in various roles, most recently as the director for the Division of Behavioral Health. Stringer has been in the mental-health field more than 28 years.

"The commission has the utmost confidence in the abilities and talents of Mark Stringer," said commissioner Steve Roling, chairman of the search committee, in the news release. "We look forward to the department's continued growth and success with current initiatives, and we know Mark will strengthen existing relationships and build new ones as well as carry on the innovative thinking of Keith Schafer and the DMH Senior Management Team."

The Missouri Department of Mental Health serves approximately 170,000 people annually through state-operated facilities and contracts with private providers.