Fairwinds officials presented a $125,000 request to the Contract Review Committee on Jan. 10 to bridge a shortfall between the cost of providing psychiatry services and insurance reimbursements and to fund workforce development and operational improvements.

Morgan (presenter) said Fairwinds is a state‑designated community behavioral health center that has doubled services and budget over the past year and served 953 clients, 625 of whom received psychiatric services, including 208 youth clients. The agency described psychiatry reimbursement as a structural deficit: Fairwinds estimates psychiatry costs at about $350 per hour while typical insurance reimbursements average about $298, creating a loss when the agency provides medication management services.

The requested $125,000 would be split between bridging the psychiatric reimbursement gap and investments in workforce development, including Attachment, Regulation, and Competency training; ALICE (active shooter) training; LDAC licensing for a clinician to expand peer-support and substance-misuse programs; clinical training incentives to avoid lost revenue while clinicians pursue education; and a management audit to improve operational efficiency.

Committee members praised improvements to Fairwinds’ application and asked for a prioritized list of what CRC funding should support if the committee cannot fund the full request. Fairwinds representatives said psychiatry gap funding is their most critical need and pledged to submit a priority list and additional documentation on request.

No award decisions were made at the meeting; Fairwinds will submit prioritized budget items for consideration in deliberations.