Unable to fully spend a federal mental health services grant worth a half-million dollars, St. Helena is preparing to return the leftover money to the state.
The grant funded the city’s only mental health services program over a three-year period.
In 2022, the city received $498,281 through a federal grant program that aims to develop communities with affordable housing and enhanced economic opportunities, principally for the benefit of low- and moderate-income people. The funds, routed through the state Department of Housing and Community Development, were to be spent over three years on the city’s Community Wellness and Mental Health Program.
Now, at the end of the term for the federal funding, the city has spent $374,231 on providing mental health services such as outreach, case management and therapy. One-quarter of the grant money, or $124,050, is yet unspent, however, and will be returned to the state.
“I’m wondering about lessons learned in terms of how we’re monitoring (programs),” Mayor Paul Dohring said at a City Council meeting Tuesday, Feb. 24. “We can’t make them work faster but we can always respond and see if we need to pivot to another plan to make sure we’re not leaving those funds on the table.”
According to the city’s finance manager, Martin Beltran, the program took some time to ramp up — in terms of expenditures and services offered. Lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic meant the city and its partner agency, Aldea Children & Family Services, were experiencing staffing shortages, Beltran said, and this contributed to the program’s inability to fully spend the grant funds.
Julie Burns, Aldea’s chief operating officer, said the organization had a compressed window to offer services on the ground. While the grant term ran from October 2022 to 2025, the state contracting process took several months and the city’s agreement with Aldea was only executed in early 2024, she said.
Further, the eligibility criteria for the grant meant only residents of St. Helena could be served by the city’s program, Beltran said, and more than half the clients needed to have an annual income below 80% of Napa County’s median income, or about $128,150 for a family of four.
“Understanding our population and targeting the community that will be able to qualify for the program are the lessons learned,” Beltran said.
Underspending on the program, staff told the council, will not have any negative repercussions on St. Helena’s ability to get similar grants in the future.
In 2021, before receiving the grant, the council passed a resolution to partner with local mental health nonprofit Aldea Children & Family Services to develop and administer the program. According to its website, Aldea provides mental health and support programs to more than 4,000 people across Napa, Solano and Sonoma counties every year.
During the three-year program in St. Helena, Aldea provided 297 treatment services for a total of 20 clients, per a city staff report. These services included treatment plan development, assessments, individual therapy, family therapy and individual rehabilitation.
The program staff, which included bilingual providers, supported families with practical education about trauma and mental health, promoted early identification and intervention, and destigmatized substance use. Through outreach, school and community-based referrals, the program was designed to go to community members rather than wait for people to come to a clinic, Burns said. Such efforts increased awareness and access for families who typically face language, transportation or immigration-related barriers, she said.
While the city does not have any other partnerships with Aldea, the nonprofit’s services remain available to eligible residents. Those who began services under the grant and met the criteria for the state’s Medi-Cal coverage were transitioned to other providers to continue treatment, Burns said. The relationships and referral pathways created through the program remain in place.
“We’ll continue working with the city and community partners to sustain access to care, and we welcome future opportunities to reactivate this successful community-based model if funding becomes available,” Burns said.
Those seeking mental health services also may contact the Napa County Health and Human Services Agency, city spokesperson Andrew Bradley said.
With the grant term complete, St. Helena city staff have submitted final reimbursement requests for all eligible expenses and are preparing to submit documentation to the state to formally close out the grant.