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Public commenters urge county to protect behavioral‑health clients as supervisors pull BHSD items for more data
Summary
Multiple BHSD employees, union representatives and clinicians told the board that clinic closures and reorganization have produced data errors and unfair seniority outcomes; the board pulled behavioral-health items for Thursday and requested written transition and client‑tracking reports.
County employees, union representatives and community clinicians used Monday’s budget hearing to press the Board of Supervisors for oversight of a Behavioral Health Services Department reorganization that they said has led to incorrect seniority coding, inequitable bumping and unclear placement of clients.
"Seniority rules were not applied consistently," Tracy Corner, a rehabilitation counselor at Central Wellness Benefit Center, told supervisors, saying the reorganization process disadvantaged long‑tenured staff. Jeremiah Gakusan, a licensed psychiatric technician with 22 years of service, said his seniority code was recorded incorrectly and that inaccuracies directly affected placement decisions.
Union representatives echoed those concerns. "Transparency and collaboration" was the request from Chuck Surface, SEIU assistant chief steward, who told the board that inaccurate seniority lists and organizational charts have real consequences for staff and clients.
The board responded by pulling the behavioral‑health department items (items 28 and 29) for final consideration later in the week and directing BHSD to provide a set of follow‑up materials: a transition plan and a client‑tracking spreadsheet for clinics being closed or consolidated, an off‑agenda explanation of the methodology used to allocate school‑linking and school‑based services, and a report from public health on suicide‑prevention functions that are being realigned to that department.
BHSD leaders (Director Sherry Terrell and Deputy Director Megan Wheelahan) said the department had planned transition steps: they will retain some clinicians from the Alexian CFCS SOTS youth clinic, use nearby clinic sites (including Sunnyvale) to continue care, assess each client’s level of need, and deploy peers and outreach staff to re‑engage clients who miss appointments. BHSD said it will track transitions and supply the board with non‑PII reports to show that clients are not "abandoned."
Why it matters: board members stressed the need for a measured, district‑by‑district transition to the state’s school‑based fee schedule so that students do not lose services over the summer and at the start of the next school year. Vice President Sylvia Arenas asked for a six‑month transition assessment to measure each district’s capacity to operationalize new billing and delivery systems.
Key quotes
"We are working closely with school districts and providers to think through the transitions," BHSD said, noting the fee schedule and wellness‑center investments aim to preserve access across the county.
"We have transition plans for all of those youth," BHSD’s Megan Wheelahan said about patients at the Alexian clinic and described ongoing assessments and reassignments.
Next steps: The board moved to refer items 28 and 29 to Thursday with the requested reports (motion passed 5–0). BHSD agreed to deliver the district‑level capacity assessment, the client transition tracking sheets (with PII removed), and an off‑agenda memo explaining the equity methodology used to allocate school‑based services funds.
