More on Moseley's resignation

Moseley to retire from NC division that treats mentally ill

02/22/2008

By GARY D. ROBERTSON / Associated Press

The head of North Carolina's efforts to treat the mentally ill announced his retirement Friday, roughly two months after his boss reduced his level of responsibility.

Mike Moseley said he will retire effective Feb. 29. For the last four years, he was served as the director of the Division of Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities and Substance Abuse Services — the agency charged in 2001 with the daunting task of implementing wide-ranging reforms in the state's mental health system.

The division has struggled to shift programs from institutional care to community-based treatment offered by private medical providers.

"I've accomplished a great deal in my three decades of public service to the state of North Carolina," Moseley said in a statement. "There have been a lot of changes in the state system during my tenure, and I'm proud of what I've done to move things forward for the people who depend on this system for their care."

But some advocates believe the system, which treats about 350,000 people annually, is worse off than before the General Assembly set the reforms in motion. Moseley and his deputies have often taken the brunt of criticism from legislators evaluating the reforms.

Last month, Health and Human Services Secretary Dempsey Benton announced several steps to correct problems in the state's mental health care hospitals and with local crisis service programs that serve patients who live at home.

Benton also said the staff responsible for running the state's 14 public mental health institutions would report directly to him, rather than Moseley. He declined to say at the time whether he would also make any leadership changes.

Mark Van Sciver, a spokesman for the state Department of Health and Human Services, said Moseley wasn't in his office Friday afternoon and Benton was unavailable for comment.

Moseley, 55, lived in Kinston while working as director and earned $131,430 a year. He will stay on for another three months to help with the transition, although no replacement was immediately named.

"I think given Mike's 30 years and the drive from Kinston everyday probably played a role in his decision," Van Sciver said.

During his tenure as division chief, Moseley said he helped lead efforts to improve Medicaid coverage for people with substance abuse addictions and developmental disabilities. Moseley previously led a state office that helped provide short-term crisis care to patients and directed the Caswell Center, a state-run home for people with severe developmental disabilities.

Ann Akland, a patient advocate whose son is an adult mental health patient in Wake County, said she hoped Moseley's replacement would bring better management skills to the job.

Akland and other advocates have been encouraged since Benton replaced former department Secretary Carmen Hooker Odom last summer. Hooker Odom often clashed with legislators and mental health professionals over the direction of the reform effort.

"The system obviously needs better leadership. The system is in such crisis," Akland said. "I'm hoping that someone will be hired that will have more experience with the kinds of issues that are needed to move forward."