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Advisory councils propose FY26 human‑services funding priorities; commissioners approve processing and request membership changes
Summary
The county’s Human Services Advisory Council and Behavioral Health Advisory Council recommended scoring and application changes for FY26 contracted human services. The commission approved the funding‑process documents and asked staff to bring back revised advisory‑board membership rules that broaden eligibility.
Sarasota County commissioners on Jan. 15 approved a package of documents that set priorities, definitions, and the application and scoring process for fiscal‑year 2026 contracted human‑services funding, after the Human Services Advisory Council (HSAC) and the Behavioral Health Advisory Council (BHAC) presented joint recommendations.
Chuck Henry, director of Health and Human Services, introduced HSAC chair Major Brian Meinberg and Behavioral Health Advisory Council chair Chris Johnson, who said the two advisory groups worked together on a SWOT analysis and identified improvements aimed at clearer scoring, better financial information, and stronger applicant guidance.
The advisory councils recommended: keeping a maximum 60‑point scoring system (program description 5 points; impact on priority 30 points; financial 25 points), clarifying scoring keys and the community success factor metrics, and requiring applicants to attend mandatory application orientation workshops so evaluation is more uniform. Councils also asked staff to score programs at the program‑level (not only agency level) and suggested financial data come from the most recent audited year, unless the program is new.
The board unanimously approved processing the FY26 funding application, the worksheet, rating materials and the proposed advisory‑council resolution. During the discussion commissioners asked staff to expand membership eligibility for the behavioral health advisory council to allow experienced, formerly‑licensed or out‑of‑state licensed practitioners and retirees to serve; the board asked staff and the county attorney to draft resolution language that clarifies eligibility and to return it for adoption.
Ending: Staff will publish the FY26 application materials and orientation schedule, incorporate the councils’ scoring and application recommendations, recruit advisory‑council members under the board‑directed eligibility changes and return a revised resolution for the councils’ structure.
