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Kings County approves MHSA annual update for 2025–26; no county general fund cost
Summary
The Kings County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved the county Behavioral Health department's Mental Health Services Act annual update for fiscal year 2025–26 and authorized submission to the state; the plan carries no cost to the county general fund and budgets $10,128,878 for FY 2025'026.
Brenda Tamayo Pagan, Mental Health Services Act program manager for Kings County Behavioral Health, presented the department's 2025'026 MHSA (Mental Health Services Act) annual update and asked the Board of Supervisors to approve the document for submission to the California Department of Health Care Services.
The update, she said, includes the 2023'024 Prevention and Early Intervention evaluation and the annual Innovative Project report and reflects a community planning process facilitated by Veil Corp that included 38 focus-group participants, eight key-stakeholder interviews and 244 community surveys. Tamayo Pagan said approximately 8,475 Kings County residents were served by MHSA-funded programs during 2023'024 (the figure may include duplicated counts) and highlighted specific activities and caseloads: 623 older adults and caregivers served through a senior engagement program; 1,898 children in school-based prevention activities; 1,258 residents receiving telephonic support from a 24/7 warm line; 492 people in intensive treatment (Full Service Partnership and Assertive Community Treatment); 114 domestic-violence survivors receiving supportive services through the Barbara Seville Shelter; participation in 91 outreach events; eight families connected to local outreach to suicide survivors; and 1,913 residents served via the Central Valley suicide prevention hotline.
Tamayo Pagan told the board that the annual update carries no additional cost to the county general fund because MHSA allocations are disbursed by the Department of Health Care Services through the county's mental health plan performance contract. The three-year program and expenditure plan includes $10,128,878 in expenses for fiscal year 2025'026, which county staff included in the recommended departmental budget.
She noted that this annual update is the last prepared under the current MHSA rules and that, beginning July 1, 2026, county behavioral health plans will be required to implement the state's Behavioral Health Services Act (Prop 1) requirements. The department said it is reviewing forthcoming state guidance and will notify the board about community planning and other changes required by the new law.
There were no public comments during the required 30-day comment period (April 29—/29/2025) or at the advisory-board public hearing on June 2; the county behavioral health advisory board unanimously approved the annual update and forwarded it to the Board of Supervisors. The board voted to approve the 2025'026 MHSA annual update and authorized the director of behavioral health to sign documents for submission to the Department of Health Care Services. The vote was recorded as: Joe Neves, yes; Doug Verboom, yes; Rusty Robinson, yes; Robert Thayer, yes; one member absent.
The full MHSA annual update and the attached evaluation reports are on file with the clerk of the board and available on the Kings County Behavioral Health website.
