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Supervisors press DPH, providers on gaps in 'treatment on demand' under Proposition T
Summary
At a Sept. 27 committee hearing, San Francisco supervisors heard DPH and providers say treatment capacity has expanded but faces intake, eligibility and outreach barriers; advocates and people with lived experience disputed reports that demand is met and called for an independent audit and a Treatment on Demand task force.
SAN FRANCISCO — The Public Safety and Neighborhood Services Committee held a special Sept. 27 hearing to examine how the city is meeting Proposition T (2008) commitments to provide free and low-cost substance use treatment "commensurate with demand." Committee Chair Supervisor Rafael Mandelmann opened the hearing by recounting the measure's history and asking for a clear accounting of progress and remaining gaps.
Dr. Judith Martin of the Department of Public Health told supervisors that the city served 6,005 clients in 2018—, nearly all adults and 56 percent experiencing homelessness, and described the Drug Medi-Cal Organized Delivery System (DMC-ODS) implementation, external quality review, and a projection of 212 new behavioral-health beds through 2020. ‘‘We have proven access for opioid use disorder treatment," Martin said, while also noting a rise in methamphetamine-related overdoses in 2017— and 2018.
Supervisors pushed Martin on whether the city's measures actually capture unmet need. "A walk on the streets of San Francisco would suggest not that well," Mandelmann said in framing the…
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