Public callers urge prompt resolution of investigation into Lake BHS clinician, warn of impacts on Native mental health

Carafe Ingram told the Lake County Board that Raven Shepherd, an MSW at Lake BHS, has been on restricted status from providing clinical services for almost a month and was recently placed on administrative leave while county staff investigate her involvement with Sacred Life Recovery Services.

Ingram said Shepherd disclosed nonclinical involvement with Sacred Life in a Behavioral Health grant submission and that Sacred Life is a nonprofit that provides culturally informed services to Native communities. Ingram said the grant at issue is a tribal planning grant that addresses housing instability among Native people and includes a cultural humility training component intended for clinicians working with Native communities.

Ingram told the board that removing Shepherd from clinical work “creates additional barriers to native seeking mental health services,” and that the absence of a Native clinician can exacerbate long-standing problems of mistrust between tribal communities and government agencies. She connected the clinician’s absence to concerns about Missing and Murdered Indigenous People (MMIP) and said: “Raven's work as a native clinician is imperative to addressing both mental health and MMIP crises.”

Ingram said Sacred Life provided a similar training two years ago that Lake BHS supported and attended; she urged the board to “address and expedite the closing of this investigation” because the ongoing restriction has “an impact” on Native communities. No county staff response or timeline for concluding the investigation is recorded in the excerpt provided.

The transcript records statements of concern and requests for expedited action but does not show any formal board motion, directive, or decision recorded on the matter during the public comment segment. The claims on the record concern internal personnel and grant-administration matters under investigation; the comments do not include documentation of personnel actions beyond the statements that Shepherd is on administrative leave and clinical restriction.