The Vermont Department of Public Safety has its first director of mental health.
Mourning Fox, former deputy commissioner of the Vermont Department of Mental Health, started the job last week. He joins the agency at a time when the state is dealing with an influx of people seeking mental health assistance and a shortage of professionals to help them.
Fox said he is confident his plans will help deal with the state’s pandemic-induced crisis by connecting people with resources and support, so they don’t end up in the criminal justice system or in a hospital emergency room.
Last week’s press release outlined Fox’s three-pronged plan to improve the Vermont State Police mental health response through short-, medium- and long-term goals.
Fox’s short-term plan relies on hiring mental health specialists to “embed” at each of the 10 state police field stations.
So far, four of these specialists have been hired, four are in the final stages of the interview process and two more are being recruited, Fox said in an email.
Meanwhile, Emily Hawes, commissioner of mental health, told VTDigger earlier this month that, as of February, 780 positions were open at the 10 mental health organizations the department works with. Updated numbers will be released next month.
“We are looking for people with the right personality, temperament and experience rather than specifically needing advanced degrees and licenses, which gives us a larger pool of applicants to draw from,” Fox said.
Fox’s medium-term goal focuses on evaluating the new mental health hires and homing in on what is working for the program. His long-term plan is to help the public safety department’s efforts to “re-imagine” how police respond to mental health or substance-use disorder crises and social service needs.
The pandemic has brought unique challenges to all areas of the mental health field, including leadership roles. In April, two leaders at the Vermont Agency of Human Services — Cory Gustafson, commissioner of the Department of Vermont Health Access, and Sarah Squirrell, commissioner of the Department of Mental Health — announced their resignations.
In a statement, Mike Smith, the agency secretary, said the pandemic has made it a “trying and exhausting year” to keep mental health and Medicaid services going.
Fox, who got his masters in counseling psychology from Goddard College, has 25 years of experience in the mental health field. In the past, Fox has directed the maximum security inpatient forensic units at Bridgewater State Hospital in Bridgewater, Massachusetts; worked as clinical director of the inpatient psychiatric unit at High Point Treatment Center in New Bedford, Massachusetts; and was director of behavioral health at Lamoille Community Connections in Morrisville.
He worked for the Vermont Department of Mental Health for eight years, the past four and a half as deputy commissioner, where his work included reviewing mental health responses that ended in the civilian being either injured or killed by police.
Fox has been certified as a nonabusive psychological and physical interventions instructor, a Crisis Prevention Institute trainer, and a mental health first aid trainer. He is also trained as an FBI hostage negotiator.
