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Commission approves consent calendar; innovation proposals and multiple advocacy grants cleared
Summary
The Commission approved the consent calendar including minutes, six innovation proposals and notices of intent to award advocacy grants for immigrant/refugee, K–12 and 0–5 maternal behavioral health funding.
The Commission for Behavioral Health voted to approve the consent calendar at its April meeting, clearing minutes from the March meeting, six innovation proposals and several notices of intent to award advocacy contracts.
What passed: The consent calendar included six innovation proposals (requests from Monterey and Mariposa to join a psychiatric advance directives Phase II collaborative; Orange County’s extension of an existing psychiatric advance directives collaboration; a Fresno outreach and engagement project for people experiencing or at risk of homelessness; an extension of Marin County’s Student Wellness Ambassador program; and a Ventura County project to expand collaborative care for children and transition‑age youth). It also included notices of intent to award advocacy contracts: immigrant and refugee advocacy (seven organizations: Asian Americans for Community Involvement; BPSOS Center for Community Advancement; Center for Empowering Refugees and Immigrants; El Sol Neighborhood Educational Center; Health Education Council; International Rescue Committee; Refugees Enrichment and Development Association); a statewide K–12 advocacy award to Youth Leadership Institute ($2,010,000); and an $18,000,000 set of awards in the 0–5 maternal behavioral health category (two small‑county CBOs at $2,000,000 each, two medium county CBOs at $3,000,000 each, two large county CBOs at $4,000,000 each — winners named in the packet).
Vote and procedure: Commissioner Bontrager moved and Commissioner Gordon seconded the motion to approve the consent calendar. Voting was conducted by roll call; the motion passed. Commissioner Jevon Wilkes registered an abstention for the vote. Chair Myra Alvarez declared the motion passed and thanked staff for the application review work.
Why it matters: The awards and innovation approvals direct resources to county and community partners for a range of prevention, school‑based and community access projects. Commissioners and staff emphasized the need for rigorous reporting and evaluation of funded programs and proposed creating a program committee to receive periodic reports and help troubleshoot grantee challenges.
Next steps: Staff said contracts and reporting expectations will be finalized and that the commission expects periodic grantee reports; the interim executive director described plans to align contract management and research/evaluation teams to produce useful performance information for commissioners.
Ending: Commissioners applauded the awardees and reiterated an interest in stronger county‑community coordination and upfront technical assistance to increase grantee success.
