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Butte County approves nine new behavioral health positions and $1.45 million grant-funded outreach campaign
Summary
The Board of Supervisors authorized nine term positions for jail- and court-linked behavioral health services funded by the Community Corrections Partnership and approved a $1,454,648 grant budget amendment to pay for a mobile-crisis outreach campaign and an RV purchase.
The Butte County Board of Supervisors on Feb. 11 approved two measures to expand behavioral health services tied to jail diversion and to launch a countywide outreach campaign funded by state grants.
Scott Kennelly, director for Behavioral Health, told the board the department seeks to add nine term positions — "3 counselors, 5 clinicians, and 1 clinical supervisor" — to strengthen forensic specialty teams that screen and treat people coming out of county jails and state prisons. He said the positions were recommended by the Community Corrections Partnership (CCP) and would cost an estimated $819,709 annually; the midyear cost to add them in the current fiscal year was listed as about $410,000 and "are fully funded by the CCP," Kennelly said.
Kennelly also presented a separate, grant-funded budget amendment of $1,454,648 to support a public outreach and marketing agreement with Half Bubble Out and to purchase a mobile-crisis RV. He said the package included $1,229,648 for advertising and communications (digital ads, radio, billboards, materials in English, Spanish and Hmong) and $225,000 for the capital purchase of an RV to be used for community outreach and crisis response. "This funding also does not come out of the general fund. It's solely grant funded," Kennelly said.
Supervisors asked about maintenance and staffing for the RV; Kennelly confirmed county staff will operate the vehicle and that fleet will take on routine upkeep after purchase. The board voted to approve both the salary-ordinance amendment adding the nine term positions and the grant-funded marketing/asset budget amendment; both votes passed without opposition.
The items will expand county capacity to assess, treat and report for justice-involved people locally and are intended to shorten time to services by having assessment and treatment housed in the same teams.
Board action notes: the positions are term (not regular civil-service) positions approved per CCP recommendation; the marketing agreement and RV purchase are time-limited, tied to the grant period ending June 30, 2025, and unspent funds must be returned to the grant source.
The board directed staff to proceed with contract execution and to coordinate with fleet and human resources for implementation.
