[{"_1":2,"_98":-5,"_99":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75,86],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",6216923,"mediaKeyId","3650482-0cdaf26d51ba5cd20a5a5df1d2f8a627","parentId",3650482,"title","Collier coalition presents five-strategy mental‑health plan; commissioners asked for feedback","audioSeconds",2485,"startMs",128000,"endMs",2613000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=3650482-0cdaf26d51ba5cd20a5a5df1d2f8a627&start=128&end=2613","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3650482-0cdaf26d51ba5cd20a5a5df1d2f8a627/thumbnail_128000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6216923/Collier-County/Florida/Collier-coalition-presents-five-strategy-mentalhealth-plan-commissioners-asked-for-feedback","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6216923-8243118fd7925fab78cffd20894db585/orig.mp4?Expires=1771057789&Signature=F145hxozA9MyZJXP21wAgTr~n8iFSpaW0lHOT7UwcklOkj8mi5areMCL9FUHk7076xGjME9YLjz~bHa0W2dBLW8UtbalftvHyoVULM6twq4~~FZ3nMiWsXV0VNECKILNelqpKmILgCiyHe8IM0BhIcc9TgS8qfMH~3Cjx9xDUei-EAHdBiU8loto3eyTgCezjRUTxrsrFfdx6qz0JlRu~wceeW-lz9rgNfKWM2WQnW0XYf-UTn1PP6s5139UY4-7LAN-1X~VFphm3~4m0hIgN2no36vpF~-qm7XkVUoee44T-nH6IY9z60oFlRMAsv4nYiBF6f3p1j-45wz3g8dKtg__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Collier County","date","2025-06-04T00:00:00Z","article","The Collier Coalition for Healthy Minds on Tuesday presented a proposed mental‑health and substance‑use strategic plan to the Collier County Board of County Commissioners at a workshop, asking commissioners for feedback before the coalition submits a final draft.

The plan, assembled using the Strategic Doing framework, identifies five priority strategies: build and operate a central receiving facility; maintain and increase housing supports for people with serious mental illness and substance use disorder; strengthen the behavioral‑health workforce; increase the justice system’s capacity and effectiveness; and enhance housing and services for veterans. Prevention, education and a data collaborative are listed as support strategies.

“The strategic doing framework is strong because it has two key areas of focus. It focuses on accelerating innovation and change and collaborations that cross boundaries both inside and outside of the organizations,” said Tanya Deterring, the plan facilitator, who described the planning process and the neutral role she played in convening partners.

Coalition leaders stressed the plan was grounded in community input and evidence. “To date, 17 new members were recruited to join the newly formed coalition,” Deterring said, and the coalition held 11 full‑membership planning meetings and more than 20 work‑group sessions between August and April to produce the proposals.

Local service leaders described how the strategies would link to existing providers. Michael Overway, chief executive officer of the Southwest Florida Regional Coalition to End Homelessness, said supportive and affordable housing is essential for recovery. “Affordable housing is more than a roof over someone's head. For individuals with mental health and substance use disorders, it is the cornerstone of their recovery,” Overway said, pointing to the coalition’s housing priorities and local provider partnerships.

Beth Hatch, chief executive officer of NAMI Collier, highlighted senior housing work and wrap‑around supports: “Before we can get to mental health, we have to have a safe place to lay our head each night,” she said, describing placements NAMI helped make and ongoing support needed after move‑in.

The plan adds workforce development as a new priority after a presentation from Dr. Courtney Witt, executive director of the Florida Center for Behavioral Health Workforce at the University of South Florida. Witt cited workforce shortfalls in Collier County: “In Collier County, there's only one behavioral health provider for every 860 Collier residents. This is relative to a state ratio of 490 to 1 and a U.S. ratio of 320 to 1,” she said, and offered technical assistance as the coalition pursues workforce strategies.

The plan also elevates a justice‑system training initiative. “The goal of the training is to provide everyone who labors in this building with a basic competency regarding mental health disorders, substance use disorders, various treatment modalities, trauma, and its impacts on behavioral health,” said Hon. Janice Martin, describing a one‑day intensive training for courthouse staff that the coalition piloted.

Veteran‑focused housing and services were also promoted. Dale Mullen, founder of Warrior Homes of Collier, described a network of six houses and 39 beds his group operates and urged continued investment to keep veterans stable, connected to treatment and moving into permanent housing.

Coalition leaders said the draft to be submitted will include measurable action steps. Deterring said the coalition will collect commissioner feedback and incorporate it into the final 70‑page draft, which will list action plans for each priority. Commission staff and coalition leaders told commissioners they are available to answer clarifying questions before the plan is finalized.

What happens next: coalition members said they are seeking commissioner input before they submit the final strategic plan; no vote or formal county action on the plan was taken at the workshop.

Sources: Presentations and public comments at the Collier County commissioners’ workshop; direct quotes from Tanya Deterring, Michael Overway, Beth Hatch, Dr. Courtney Witt, Hon. Janice Martin, and Dale Mullen.","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Board of County Commissioners - Workshop (6-3-2025)","oneSentenceSummary","The Collier Coalition for Healthy Minds on Tuesday presented a proposed mental‑health and substance‑use strategic plan to the Collier County Board of County Commissioners at a workshop, asking commissioners for feedback before the coalition submits a final draft.","taxTitle","Collier County, Florida","taxId",12758,"location","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":79,"_47":80,"_49":81,"_51":82,"_53":83,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":84,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":85,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6216913,"County AUIR/CIE briefing flags multi‑hundred‑million shortfalls in stormwater and roads, calls for maintenance funding",0,8070000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3650482-0cdaf26d51ba5cd20a5a5df1d2f8a627&start=8070&end=8070","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3650482-0cdaf26d51ba5cd20a5a5df1d2f8a627/thumbnail_8070000.jpg","/articles/6216913/Collier-County/Florida/County-AUIRCIE-briefing-flags-multihundredmillion-shortfalls-in-stormwater-and-roads-calls-for-maintenance-funding","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6216913-8c5236aa250f08af6553c4d93425f224/orig.mp4?Expires=1771057789&Signature=OoZ62a-zIjeTjSoFat5wXobsMGWH~VYkcfJbBDwwjuN2Q1bdyNf1YnVNaslV~QZzUJ28I92qOjz5K20KNiCsoGAv8T0nQeGVqTxvC5cw4shFufd~-myrRwlRRmDN2kSGN0qynGURlxWFXzm9jGXZ6Pc7z0GTE4fAOnVekhWR2VJWMZUfvtE8Rqr2pf2LrDbkIVWa4p1xzUtMiv8vAo9dW7aNOanJohEz9BTqYKw-SGmzJ1b5qcpx7doDhVSV9dnm1BI9iuXyohefP~2bg7eor0t~tnDFfM8o8pQrI0Yn1qUBgDLFdiIF154q6WPiazK8PD7mtk9vY~f5eXiD0eglDA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","County planning and infrastructure staff told commissioners at a workshop that Collier County’s annual update and inventory report (AUIR) and capital improvement element (CIE) show significant funding shortfalls for stormwater and transportation projects and an increasing backlog of maintenance on county assets.

“In FY 26, we are anticipating over a $64,000,000 shortfall and over the 5 years, a $300,000,000 shortfall in projects that we know that we need to do,” Trinity Scott, transportation and stormwater director, said in the workshop presentation and accompanying slide deck describing immediate stormwater capital needs.

Stormwater: Scott described county stormwater infrastructure as a mix of major canals, water‑control structures, roadside swales and buried pipe, and said much of it is underground and requires both inspection and follow‑up repair. She cited a preliminary five‑year project shortfall of roughly $300 million and asked commissioners to consider a dedicated long‑term funding source; staff said they plan to request funding in the FY‑26 budget to start a utility study and that any fee would require a legal nexus study before implementation.

Roads and pavement: Planning staff said transportation needs over the next five years total about $314 million, driven by lane‑mile additions and several large projects in later years. Transportation director Trinity Scott said the county plans roughly 45 additional lane miles in the next five years, with several large, partially funded projects — including Immokalee and Vanderbilt Beach corridors — concentrated in FY‑28 in the county’s five‑year profile.

Sidewalks and signals: staff noted new Florida Department of Transportation standards reduced allowable sidewalk lifts, creating a maintenance backlog. Signal inventory and maintenance needs have grown while the county’s signal‑maintenance crew has stayed small; staff said contract costs for maintenance are increasing even as budget lines remain constrained.

Emergency medical services: EMS staff and county leaders discussed response‑time planning and station placement. Commissioners and staff singled out a potential benefit of adding an ambulance at Station 63 on I‑75/Alligator Alley to reduce long response times for major crashes on the interstate; staff said they will pursue options with partner agencies. The county also reported roughly 37,000 medical calls year‑to‑date and said it is reevaluating response‑time metrics and station locations as EMS needs and co‑response arrangements evolve.

Parks, libraries and government buildings: staff said library square‑footage surpluses from earlier building campaigns are being eroded and that the county will need to plan future library locations and explore co‑location with other government functions. Parks staff said the county will face community‑park acreage shortfalls starting in the next few fiscal years and is working to assess opportunities on newly acquired properties and commitments embedded in planned rural town and village developments. County facilities officials also emphasized that vertical asset maintenance for buildings is a growing and costly need that will be folded into budgeting discussions.

What’s next: County staff said they will incorporate these needs into the FY‑26 budget process, propose a stormwater funding study and pursue additional grant opportunities for transportation projects. Commissioners asked staff to provide clearer summaries for public consumption to support budget decisions and to identify options — including special assessments or bonds — for addressing the largest shortfalls.","County staff briefed commissioners on the Adequate Public Facilities/Annual Update and Inventory Report and Capital Improvements Element, identifying large unfunded needs in stormwater (roughly $300 million over five years), transportation (more than $300 million over five years) and a growing maintenance backlog across county facilities.",{"_33":87,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":88,"_41":89,"_43":90,"_45":91,"_47":92,"_49":93,"_51":94,"_53":95,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":96,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":97,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6216919,"Commissioners press David Lawrence Center on operating agreement, bed counts and funding for proposed central receiving facility",5327,3052000,8379000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=3650482-0cdaf26d51ba5cd20a5a5df1d2f8a627&start=3052&end=8379","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/3650482-0cdaf26d51ba5cd20a5a5df1d2f8a627/thumbnail_3052000.jpg","/articles/6216919/Collier-County/Florida/Commissioners-press-David-Lawrence-Center-on-operating-agreement-bed-counts-and-funding-for-proposed-central-receiving-facility","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6216919-8d4b94f8ba900e26929ecf0b37c61c33/orig.mp4?Expires=1771057789&Signature=SD8dUSL3e3Snj4Rngm46Y2Crbkx~h-Ykza6S2vMtxX1AzV-dCFyQEuhdUrjAfOdb5DGQxDOQu~y-5SxUjA5zSoRSHBBKwJ7E1kAhKyT9eF7m1FO92cTF4E~43I7CinPqFvGvedpqJnywwBv~HLkWVVkDcd3bVLZCSICShd55dcWUhq2seU70kfb3cwIwv020bBYPN7c5PaYd8~JjD1WcKOO6fNO1tq-BOnd-OveGaewd-G2hSTIVodM6IR-47hHLflJU7Lp88NGplVlz68g5Nh3NYlqSMEWydUbdjSDN6ZP9p~tySJ7-SNBcSMUh0usMbTzaj5eG78~XyI78OKkkOw__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","Collier County commissioners used a workshop meeting to press for clearer terms and financial details in a proposed operating agreement with the David Lawrence Center for a planned central receiving facility intended to receive people in behavioral‑health crisis.

Scott Burgess, a coalition leader, told the commissioners the central receiving facility will create 87 new beds and that 33 crisis stabilization beds will remain at the David Lawrence Center’s current campus. He also said the project will require about 92 new direct staff positions. “We are having, we're going to have 87 new beds in the central receiving facility,” Burgess said.

Commissioners responded with a mix of support for the facility’s goals and sharp questions about operational risk and the county’s potential long‑term obligations. “A B plus decision now is better than an A plus decision that never comes,” Commissioner Carmine Locastro said, urging the board to move forward. Locastro said he strongly favors placing the facility on the David Lawrence Center property.

Other commissioners raised concerns. Commissioner Michael McDaniel said he was disappointed portions of the operating agreement remained unresolved and flagged the pro forma showing an annual operating shortfall in the neighborhood of $900,000. “I cannot believe that I'm sitting here today with these discussions that we've been having for all these years, and that operating agreement that was put before us last week is not fixed,” McDaniel said.

Commissioner Matt Hall pressed the David Lawrence Center’s representatives on whether the 87 beds were truly net new or whether some existing adult‑care capacity would be consolidated into the new facility. Scott Burgess and other presenters said the new 87 beds would be added and that certain adult services will be consolidated into a dedicated adult building while 33 crisis beds on the current campus will be refocused for children, which should increase juvenile capacity.

County staff, the clerk’s office and the county attorney flagged other financial and procedural concerns. Clerk Crystal Sontay told commissioners the pro forma showed a roughly $900,000 annual deficit and warned the board that naming‑rights and philanthropic pledges referenced by the operator were not yet guaranteed. County attorney Sally Ashkar described the mechanism in the draft operating agreement by which the David Lawrence Center could request deficit funding: the agreement ties requests for county funds to reductions in federal, state or county funding for the facility. “If the sources of revenue for the central receiving facility from the feds, the state, or the county are reduced, then David Lawrence Center can submit a request to the county for deficit funding,” Ashkar said, adding that the county may approve the request, approve a reduced level of service, or terminate the agreement.

Commissioner Hall said he would not be comfortable entering an agreement that “is planning to fail,” referring to the pro forma shortfall and the uncertainty that philanthropic dollars will cover recurring operating expenses.

No formal vote was taken at the workshop. Staff and the David Lawrence Center representatives said the operating agreement circulated last week had not been changed since those meetings and that outstanding questions should be submitted to county staff so they can be addressed before the board’s upcoming meeting, when commissioners said they expect to vote on approval of terms.

What’s next: The board scheduled the matter for action at its next regular meeting and asked county staff and the David Lawrence Center to provide clarifying documents, including a reconciled bed count, staffing assumptions and a clarified pro forma showing the sources and uses of revenue and the planned use of any naming‑rights or donation proceeds.","At a Collier County workshop, commissioners probed an operating agreement and financing for a proposed central receiving facility to be operated by the David Lawrence Center, seeking clarity on bed counts, staffing and a pro forma that shows an operating shortfall.","actionData","errors"]

Article not found

Collier coalition presents five-strategy mental‑health plan; commissioners asked for feedback

County AUIR/CIE briefing flags multi‑hundred‑million shortfalls in stormwater and roads, calls for maintenance funding

Commissioners press David Lawrence Center on operating agreement, bed counts and funding for proposed central receiving facility