Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Behavioral Health topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Board approves multiple behavioral-health contracts funded by opioid settlement and county budgets
Summary
The board approved a $1.0M contract with Kanokitai Nation Native Wellness, and renewed Crestwood and Redwood contracts to provide adult residential, specialty mental health and foster-care services; Supervisors asked for a countywide expenditure plan and long-term sustainability analysis for the opioid-settlement allocations.
The Board approved three separate behavioral-health contracts on July 15 to expand treatment, residential and youth services. Two contracts are continuing service relationships and one is a new award funded from the county’s allocation of opioid-settlement dollars.
Kanokitai Nation — Native Wellness (agreement): The board approved a five-year agreement (fiscal years 2025–2030) to provide culturally‑focused prevention and wellness services for Tribal youth and community members funded from the county’s opioid‑settlement allocation. The contract is for $1,000,000 over the contract period. Supervisor Sabatier abstained on the vote and the motion passed with a recorded tally of 3 yes, 0 no, 1 abstention. Staff described the award as coming from a community-driven RFP and planning process that identified Indigenous‑serving prevention services as a priority.
Crestwood Behavioral Health (agreement): The board approved a contract for adult residential support services and specialty mental-health services for individuals requiring higher-acuity care (including placements required for conservatorship cases) for fiscal years 2025–26 in the amount of $1,200,000. Behavioral Health staff said Crestwood has been a longstanding provider used to secure residential placements not available locally.
Redwood Community Services (agreement): The board approved a continuing contract to fund the county’s RAP program, foster-care services and intensive-services foster care (ISFC) for specialty mental-health services for fiscal years 2025–26 at $1,500,000. Redwood told the board it had opened a second clinic location in Clear Lake to expand access to youth services.
Supervisors and staff discussed opioid-settlement fund management: Behavioral Health Director Elise Jones said the county has a multi-step planning process and has reserved roughly $7.3 million of settlement receipts in hand, with several contracts now executed and additional funding available for other high-priority uses (staff also noted additional settlement flows expected in future years). Supervisor Sabatier said she would like a clear long-range expenditure plan that shows how the full multi‑year settlement (estimated at a much larger cumulative total over many years) will deliver sustainable programs — not just time-limited grants. Staff said they would present an annual update and would continue to pursue leveraged, generational funding (state grants) alongside settlement money to create longer-term capacity.
Ending: The board authorized these contracts and required staff to continue returning to the board with program updates and a schedule for future RFPs and funding decisions tied to the opioid settlement expenditure plan.
