San Diego County supervisors are moving forward with two initiatives that would fundamentally change the structure of government-provided mental health care in the region.
With little discussion, the board started the process of splitting Behavioral Health Services from the county Health and Human Services Agency, making it a fifth stand-alone department on the county organizational chart, reporting directly to county Chief Administrative Officer Ebony Shelton.
The action, approved on consent Tuesday, was followed on Wednesday with approval to seek competitive bids for a new “health continuum framework” that would allow easier data sharing between various organizations that provide mental health care to children and adolescents.
Both items will return to the board for further action, with a proposed ordinance to create a stand-alone behavioral health department expected to return for a vote on April 21; no specific date is specified for the youth program solicitation.
Demand for increased mental health care services has continued to rise, and so has the county’s behavioral health spending. The county’s budget lists $1.2 billion in behavioral health spending this fiscal year, about one-third of the $3.5 billion allocated to the Health and Human Services Agency.
Supervisor Monica Montgomery Steppe called the move a necessary evolution.
“The county’s behavioral health needs have grown dramatically since our system was designed more than 30 years ago,” Montgomery Steppe said. “This transformation will allow us to expand treatment capacity, strengthen care coordination and advance a care before crisis model.”
Part of that effort, staff members added, is better serving minors, who are said to have the highest rate of attempted suicide among any demographic group.
Board Chair Terra Lawson-Remer requested a youth-tailored plan after noticing that the county’s shift to proactive mental health care did not directly address younger residents.
“Youth do have not just different needs, but also different gaps (in care), different kinds of providers, different kinds of services,” Lawson-Remer said.