Chautauqua County officials are planning on restructuring the county's human services programs.

Chautauqua County Executive Paul Wendel Jr. says social divisions of the Department of Health and Human Services will be integrated with the Department of Mental Hygiene to form a new department.

The Division of Health will also become a standalone department and include health services, disease prevention and provide medical services to the county jail.

“For 11 years, the County has operated with a Department of Health and Human Services, but I believe our programs and services will be better aligned and further enhanced by separating this pre-existing department and creating a new structure for the delivery of these services,” said Wendel. “I am excited to announce our new plan going forward that involves the restructuring of our current DHHS services and also includes an integration with a current county department.”

Wendel says these changes will be more efficient for employees to help county residents.

“This new structure will provide a stronger and more efficient way for our current employees to deliver human services to Chautauqua County residents,” said Wendel. “Many individuals and families often receive services from multiple areas of County Government and this restructuring will better integrate our mental hygiene and social services so that we are working on a united front to provide timely, accessible and quality care to County residents as we maximize our partnerships and improve community support systems. The planning behind this integration has been in the works for many months and the teams on both sides have worked diligently from the very beginning to make sure this is a right fit for our County. I am pleased to see how organically this plan has taken root with our mental hygiene department and social services divisions.” 

The changes still have to be reviewed by the county legislature and the state.

Wendel also announced new leadership for these departments once the reorganization changes go into effect. Carmelo Hernandez will serve as Director of the Department of Mental Hygiene and Social Services and Dr. Michael Faulk will serve as Chautauqua County’s Chief Medical Officer and head of the Department of Health.