County council approves Salt Lake County Division of Behavioral Health FY26 area plan

Salt Lake County Council voted on May 13 to approve the Division of Behavioral Health Services fiscal year 2026 area plan after a detailed presentation from county behavioral health staff.

Division director Tim Whalen and associate director Jeannie Edens briefed the council on the plan’s new and notable elements, including the recently opened HMHI receiving center (referred to in the presentation as the scribe care center), expanded assertive community treatment (ACT) teams, new residential and supportive housing projects, and Medicaid policy changes that affect local program funding.

Edens and Whalen told the council the receiving center opened in March and functions as a crisis receiving facility providing 23-hour stabilization in chairs rather than beds, with a connected rapid stabilization unit offering psychiatric beds for longer stays when needed. The presenters described services available at the receiving center, including medication-assisted treatment, enrollment support for Medicaid, and coordination with community partners such as legal defenders and treatment providers.

The area plan also proposes growth in ACT teams — teams that provide intensive, mobile, interdisciplinary…