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 additional ongoing funding for operations; Manfren said Medicaid billing would likely be the primary revenue source to support ongoing operations after capital costs.

What staff described - Secure residential treatment / RTFs: Manfren said the statewide capacity is small and other Oregon counties have used similar funds to build SRTFs "to stabilize individuals into other housing settings." Marion County was cited as an example of a county that is opening a facility. - Substance-use residential treatment: Manfren said the state funds cannot be used for medically managed withdrawal/detox but can fund longer-term residential treatment for people with substance-use disorders. - Aid-and-assist housing: Manfren described a non-congregate model for people found unable to aid and assist in criminal proceedings. She said the county would prefer small, apartment-style units with daytime staffing (not 24/7) rather than congregate shared-housing.

Manfren cautioned that $1.3 million would not be sufficient on its own to create larger facilities and that partnerships or additional funding would be needed for many proposals. "The $1,300,000 is not going to, create any of those facilities on its own," she said.

Commissioners' questions and direction Commissioners asked about sustainability, timelines, and whether the funds could buy county-owned property. Manfren and other staff said sustainability for program operations would likely rely on Medicaid billing and that some proposals could be implemented more quickly than others. She suggested aid-and-assist-style housing might be the most straightforward to stand up from an operational standpoint.

County counsel and contract staff said obligations under the grant require the county to "obligate" the funds by the deadline to avoid return to the state; staff clarified that "obligated" means entering into binding contracts or orders for property or services rather than fully spending the money by that date. Staff also noted that for real property expenditures of $100,000 or more there is an additional step: a declaration of restrictive covenants with the Oregon Health Authority and the Department of Justice, which can take months to complete.

Next steps Commissioners asked staff to continue pursuing multiple tracks without immediately committing funds to any single large project, and to prioritize third-party operated models where possible so the county would not carry long-term staffing obligations. Commissioners also asked staff to explore whether county-owned property could be repurposed and to continue conversations with neighboring counties, community providers and potential partners. Manfren said she would return with follow-ups as opportunities matured.

Provenance: Discussion began in the work session at the behavioral health briefing and continued through commissioner Q&A during the April 3 meeting.