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Inyo County approves Behavioral Health Services Act integrated plan, with limited waivers for small‑county flexibility
Summary
The board authorized submission of the county's BHSA integrated plan and gave the behavioral health director authority to make non‑substantive edits requested by the state, while seeking waivers on some housing and evidence‑based practice timelines to reflect small‑county capacity.
The Inyo County Board of Supervisors on June 9 approved submission of the county's integrated plan under California's Behavioral Health Services Act (BHSA) and authorized the Health & Human Services director to make non‑substantive revisions in response to state feedback.
Anna Scott, Health & Human Services, said BHSA modernizes the Mental Health Services Act and expands the county's service population to explicitly include people with substance use disorders and a stronger emphasis on housing stability as a component of behavioral health care. Scott said the state requires more prescriptive data collection and has set standards for statewide prevention efforts; counties must meet the expanded reporting and coordination expectations within existing funding.
Scott explained Inyo County expects approximately $2,300,000 per year in relevant funding and is proposing a three‑year budget split while reserving flexibility on housing expenditures. Because the county is a small rural jurisdiction, staff requested and will use phased waivers for full implementation of updated evidence‑based practices (full fidelity is not required until 2029) and sought flexibility to allocate some housing funding to general supportive services if strict housing set‑asides prove impractical.
The board voted to approve the plan and to authorize the HHS director and county administrator to sign submission documents, allowing staff to work with the California Department of Health Care Services to finalize minor clarifications before the June 30 deadline.
Scott said the approach aims to preserve local services (wellness centers, Progress House residential services, crisis response, family strengthening/wraparound services and school‑linked Northstar programs) while meeting BHSA requirements and improving data collection and coordination with Medi‑Cal managed‑care plans.
Supervisor Waddleton moved approval; the board approved the submission and the authorization for staff to make non‑substantive revisions.
Staff will continue refining budget and narrative details with the state and return with any material changes.
