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Alameda County officials report progress on 'Care First, Jails Last' but warn of funding and staffing gaps
Summary
County health, housing and justice officials told a joint Health and Public Protection committee that Alameda has expanded psychiatric and subacute beds, launched navigation and housing initiatives and is advancing an African American Wellness Hub — while supervisors and oversight boards flagged clinician shortages, uncertain long‑term funding and the need for clearer data.
Alameda County officials told a joint meeting of the Board of Supervisors’ Health and Public Protection committees that implementation of the Care First, Jails Last recommendations is underway, but that funding shifts and clinical‑staffing gaps remain obstacles.
Dr. Karen Tribble, Alameda County Behavioral Health director, said the county has added immediate capacity and plans more: “We have added 83 locked subacute beds, 20 locked acute geriatric psychiatric beds, as well as locked medical psychiatric beds,” she said, and described additional phased openings through partners including Alameda Health System and Telecare.
Why this matters: the county’s plan is intended to reduce justice involvement by expanding community‑based treatment and housing for people with serious mental illness. Supervisors and the Mental Health Advisory Board pressed officials for clearer timelines and more robust staffing as legislation and funding change the demand for services.
Officials noted several concrete lines of work now underway. The General Services Agency is seeking to award a design‑build contract for an African American Wellness Hub, a culturally tailored facility that GSA said will appear on the board agenda for award. The sheriff’s office and partners are piloting a “safe‑landing” lobby space at Santa Rita Jail to provide immediate post‑release connections to services, and the CARES Navigation Center — a pre‑charge diversion model operated with community partners — is being expanded to a second site with a target of a January opening for the new location.
County housing staff described a major capital push: Michelle Starrett, housing director, said the county will release an initial $50 million in capital funding to produce roughly 300 permanent supportive housing units and that Measure A1 interest (about $43 million) and a Measure W flexible pool are being combined with other funding streams to expand subsidies and interim housing.
Supervisors and the Mental Health Advisory Board repeatedly warned that legislation and budget changes could undercut prevention investments. Dr. Tribble flagged SB 43, saying the law (effective January 2026) will broaden who is eligible for involuntary holds and will require the county to reassess capacity and gaps after implementation. “That changes the law for who can be a 5150,” she said, calling for a post‑implementation gap analysis.
The advisory board chair provided a data‑driven warning: Brian Blum said public data show 361 people with serious mental illness in Santa Rita Jail the prior night and noted that John George psychiatric hospital often has 25–30 percent of beds classified as administrative — patients who are occupying beds but do not meet acute criteria because lower‑level beds are unavailable.
County officials said they are refining performance metrics, expanding data‑sharing across courts and justice partners, and that RDA support is helping departments create trackable outcome measures. They did not propose new ordinances or vote on funding at the meeting; departments agreed to return with more detailed budgets, staffing proposals and a next update to the joint committee.
The joint committee scheduled another comprehensive update for March 2026.
