Iowa Senator Sarah Trone-Garriott declares she’s working on a bill that would affect Dallas County combining with a bigger county for mental health services.

Senator Trone-Garriott says that there are mental health regions in Iowa that are currently set up to work with each other by providing services, but a proposal suggests changing the definition of the regions, by deciding which counties would work together. She tells Raccoon Valley Radio that Dallas County would combine with Polk County, which raises concerns for her.

“Polk’s pretty big, Polk has a lot of gravity, Polk is different, and while we do have some people going to Polk for services, we also want to make sure that those services are available for people in the rural communities and small towns. That everyone doesn’t have to drive to Des Moines to get what they need.”

Trone-Garriott explains that she’s heard concerns from the Heart of Iowa Mental Health Region that Dallas County belongs to, as well as the Dallas County Sheriff’s Department, and providers inside Dallas County. She does reiterate that those, along with her concerns, are being presented and that the bill is moving forward.