Committee forwards MHSA FY2016–17 annual update; supervisors press for housing and service metrics

The Public Safety and Neighborhood Services Committee voted to forward a resolution adopting the Mental Health Services Act (MHSA) annual update for fiscal year 2016–17 to the Board of Supervisors with a positive recommendation.

A Department of Public Health (DPH) presenter described the MHSA (Proposition 63) as a 1% tax on personal income of individuals earning over $1 million and said the program is designed to transform local mental‑health service delivery for unserved and underserved populations. The presenter outlined MHSA components — community support services, innovation, prevention/early intervention (PI), workforce education and training, and capital facilities and technological needs — and said programs funded by MHSA include intensive case management, peer‑to‑peer support, vocational services and housing for full‑service‑partnership clients.

DPH said local MHSA investments have supported roughly 83 units of permanent supportive housing, about 56 transitional‑age‑youth units and roughly 11 single‑room‑occupancy (SRO) units used for emergency stabilization. The presenter noted a related state initiative, identified in the presentation as the "No Place Like Home" housing bond, described in the item as a roughly $2,000,000,000 bond to develop housing for chronically homeless individuals including those with serious mental illness; DPH said those bond funds would pay for unit development but that additional funding and a strategic plan will be required to cover ongoing supportive services.

Supervisors questioned how MHSA funding links to homelessness and to law‑enforcement partnerships. DPH said it operates a mobile crisis program that can collaborate with law enforcement to respond to crisis calls and an assisted outpatient treatment program (AOT, "Laura’s Law") intended to engage people with histories of repeated hospitalizations or incarceration. DPH acknowledged some units and programs remain understaffed and said planning for co‑location of behavioral‑health professionals with first responders is under consideration.

On financing, DPH said MHSA revenue can be volatile because actual receipts are only known at year‑end, so the county maintains a prudential reserve and typically smooths spending based on a multi‑year average of revenue; DPH said it had not had to request general‑fund subsidies for MHSA in recent years but that the department is prudential in projecting expenditures. Supervisors pressed for clearer metrics in future reports, including measures of population need, clients served and penetration rates compared to large counties.

With no public comment on the item, the committee recorded a motion and forwarded the annual update to the Board for adoption. The committee’s action was procedural; the Board will consider adoption and any follow‑up reporting requirements.