Jessica Cejnar Andrews / Wednesday, Feb. 14 @ 3:56 p.m. / Elections, Health
Behavioral Health Director Warns Of Detrimental Impacts to Del Norte's Existing Services If Voters Approve Prop. 1 In March
A statewide bond measure on the March 5 ballot that aims to increase the number of behavioral health beds available across California could have detrimental impacts in Del Norte County, one county director told supervisors Tuesday.
If approved, Proposition 1 would reform the Mental Health Services Act (MHSA) of 2004 and would establish a $6.38 billion bond for mental health and housing treatment beds statewide. The bond is expected to build an estimated 4,350 housing units with 2,350 set aside for veterans.
But Shiann Hogan, deputy director in charge of the county’s Behavioral Health Branch, said Del Norte County is unlikely to see those beds. They’ll probably go to large communities including Los Angeles, San Diego and Riverside, which will also compete against Del Norte for any grant dollars Prop 1 sets aside, she said.
Hogan acknowledged that the MHSA needed reform. But because Prop 1 wouldn’t change its funding mechanism — a 1 percent tax on personal income over $1 million — it wouldn’t generate additional revenue, she said, yet Del Norte would be expected to expand its scope of services.
“County leaders have repeatedly raised concerns about the disruption Proposition 1 would cause,” Hogan told the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday, adding that it could result in less funding that could lead to the need to cancel contracts and close current programs. “For us that might look like canceling our agreement with the Yurok Boys and Girls Club or canceling our agreement with the [Family Resource Center].”
The Del Norte County Behavioral Health Branch may have to close the same-day service it provides to clients in crisis if Proposition 1 passes, Hogan said. Behavioral Health may also have to reduce county staff, though Hogan said she’d need additional staff to meet new monitoring and recording requirements if it’s approved.
“The biggest concern I see is the local aspect of our discretion to decide what our community needs,” Hogan told supervisors. “This would be vastly impacted and cause a reduction in overall services.”
California voters approved the Mental Health Services Act, also known as Proposition 63, in 2004. Those MHSA tax dollars are divided among counties statewide, Hogan said.
In Del Norte County, these dollars pay for group services, case management and one-on-one support for Behavioral Health Branch clients. The money is used for the branch’s same-day crisis team services provided in its offices, at the emergency room and in the jail, Hogan said.
MHSA funding also pays for the mobile crisis team, or Providing Access to Hope, program that’s expected to go live in July.
MHSA funding is also used for the Behavioral Health Branch’s Coastal Connections youth program, its Mental Health First Aid program and pays for community partnerships with the Yurok Boys and Girls Club, the Family Resource Center of the Redwoods and the Del Norte County Recreation Department.
However, Hogan said, the amount of MHSA dollars coming to Del Norte has decreased. In fiscal year 2020-21, Del Norte received about $3.7 million in MHSA dollars. That amount dwindled to $3.38 million during fiscal year 2021-22 and $2.2 million in 2022-23.
This bar graph shows the decrease in Mental Health Services Act dollars Del Norte County has experienced over the past three fiscal years. | Screenshot
According to Hogan, Del Norte received 65 percent of the MHSA money it had expected in the 2022-23 fiscal year.
“This is one of the most volatile types of money much like the general fund is. It fluctuates as people earn more or earn less or leave California or move in,” she said. “This year, we’re expected to rise back up to approximately $3.5 million. Hopefully that comes to fruition and we see all those dollars.”
Proposition 1 is the product of two laws approved last year — State Senate Bill 326 and Assembly Bill 531. SB 326 modernizes the Mental Health Services Act, renaming it the Behavioral Health Services Act, and AB 531 establishes the $6.38 billion bond.
According to Hogan, repaying the bond would cost about $310 million annually over 30 years and would come out of the state’s general fund.
If voters approve Prop 1, Del Norte County would need to implement the new services by July 2027. Hogan said she’ll also be back before county supervisors and other community stakeholders to advocate for more psychiatric beds available on the North Coast. She has already met with former Sutter Coast Hospital CEO Mitch Hanna and its newest executive officer, Michael Lane.
“It’s traumatic for individuals to have to be sent so far away for psychiatric beds,” she said. “If we can get something regionally, that would be extremely helpful.”
District 5 Supervisor Dean Wilson pointed out that Del Norte County is struggling to meet its current workload. He also said that in addition to residential treatment facilities, custodial facilities for “those that are locked up and cannot roam free” are required. That would require specialized personnel in a community that has a hard time recruiting medical and psychiatric professionals, he said.
“Our only solution for Del Norte County and many counties, whether it be Modoc or Lassen or Trinity or Humboldt, is a regional approach,” Wilson said.
In September, the Board of Supervisors approved a letter from Del Norte County Health and Human Services Director Ranell Brown to California Governor Gavin Newsom highlighting their concerns about SB 326 and AB 531.
Del Norte County supervisors also sent their own letter trying to get Newsom to reconsider how the two bills would reallocate MHSA dollars, arguing that it wouldn’t work for small rural communities.
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