Yamhill County reviews options for remaining behavioral health housing funds

Yamhill County commissioners heard a staff briefing April 3 on remaining state behavioral health housing funds and possible uses, including residential treatment beds, substance-use disorder residential programs and housing for the county's aid-and-assist population.

Lindsey Manfren, a county staff member who presented the update, said the county originally received "a little over $3,000,000" for behavioral health housing programs and that a portion remains unobligated. "So currently, we have a little over $1,300,000 that is unobligated," she said. Manfren said the county must obligate the funds by the end of the calendar year or risk returning them to the state.

Why it matters: commissioners and staff said there is local demand for short-term residential treatment and supportive housing for people with serious mental illness who cannot currently be placed elsewhere. Several options explored by staff are capital investments that would require…