Select committee approves four behavioral-health and shelter contract amendments, seeks systemwide provider mapping

The Homelessness and Behavioral Health Select Committee on April 28 voted unanimously to approve four separate contract amendments that expand behavioral-health and shelter services while urging departments to better map the city’s system of care.

The committee approved: a second amendment with Richmond Area Multi Services (RAMS) that extends the grant through June 30, 2027 and raised the not-to-exceed amount to about $61,000,000; an amendment with Westside Community Mental Health Center increasing the contract to roughly $15.6 million through June 30, 2026; an amendment with Homeless Children’s Network raising the total to about $17.5 million through December 31, 2027; and a three-year extension and augmentation with 5 Keys Schools and Programs to operate the Baldwin Safe Navigation Center, increasing its not-to-exceed to about $37.1 million.

Chair Supervisor Hillary Ronan, who convened the inaugural meeting, framed the committee as a vehicle to place contracts “within a system of care” rather than reviewing them in isolation. She asked DPH to produce a single landscape document that lists contracted providers, bed types, expected…