With no talks between county officials and Tellurian Behavioral Health, Dane County’s Tellurian Behavioral Health detox center may close at the end of the year.
The facility has been open for nearly 40 years, but in September, Tellurian Behavioral Health, a nonprofit that operates the facility, gave a 90-day notice that it would not renew its contract with the county, the Wisconsin State Journal reports.
According to the same report, Tellurian receives about $1.2 million a year from the county for the detox program, but the program has been losing money for two years, and cost Tellurian over $750,000 in 2024.
The county paid $400 a day for detox services last year, but to break even, it would have needed to pay about $750 a day.
With a $31 million budget deficit looming, Dane County is reluctant to spend and is looking for cuts to meet new financial needs. The county pays about $1.5 million to run the detox program.
Four police chiefs representing the Madison, Sun Prairie, Middleton and UW-Madison departments sent a letter to the county expressing support to keep the detox center open.
