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Monterey County approves BHSA integrated plan and asks staff to design bridge funding for affected nonprofits
Summary
The board certified and transmitted the county’s three‑year Behavioral Health Services Act integrated plan to the state and voted to direct the CEO and behavioral‑health bureau to return with options for short‑term bridge funding to help community providers (notably Alliance on Aging and the Village Project) affected by the transition from MHSA to BHSA.
The Monterey County Board of Supervisors on June 16 adopted the county’s three‑year Behavioral Health Services Act (BHSA) integrated plan and authorized transmittal to the California Department of Health Care Services after staff said DHCS had conditionally approved the draft pending board certification.
Behavioral Health Bureau Chief Melanie Rhodess and staff summarized extensive community outreach — a 45‑day multilingual public comment period, 44 public input events and 142 submitted comments — and described revisions made to the draft plan. Staff said the county made 27 substantive changes since the draft, strengthening the housing‑intervention strategy, crisis‑system monitoring, and coordination for justice‑involved populations, among other technical and policy clarifications.
A major focus during public comment and board discussion was the impact of the state’s transition from the Mental Health Services Act (MHSA) to BHSA on prevention‑oriented, community‑based nonprofits. Staff reported about $6.5 million in reductions to community contracts; after reviewing scopes and alternate funds, the department identified roughly $5 million of services that can be preserved under other BHSA‑eligible streams or county funding.
Speakers representing community organizations urged the board to provide bridge funding while the bureau ramps up federal financial participation and other new revenue sources. Village Project representatives said their organization faces a $310,000 annual cut; Alliance on Aging leaders described senior peer counseling as “the only mental‑health program in Monterey County designed specifically for and delivered by seniors” and requested bridge support. NAMI Monterey County asked for ongoing conversations about how family‑support services fit within BHSA.
On a motion the board approved unanimously, supervisors directed the CEO and behavioral‑health bureau to work with the budget office to: (a) quantify potential productivity/revenue growth under BHSA (federal financial participation and other streams) and (b) return promptly with concrete bridge‑funding options and durations the board could consider from contingency funds. Staff said preliminary estimates put the maximum list of affected providers at roughly $6.5 million in reductions, and cited two organizations repeatedly in testimony: Alliance on Aging (approximate one‑year ask ~$440,000) and Village Project (~$310,000), though the board asked staff to propose prioritized, time‑limited bridge options rather than an open‑ended backfill.
Why it matters: by adopting the BHSA integrated plan the county meets the state submission deadline and secures eligibility for state BHSA funding. The board’s bridge‑funding directive reflects local concern about loss of prevention and culturally grounded community services while the county and contractors adjust to the new BHSA eligibility rules.
What’s next: staff will transmit the integrated plan to DHCS and return to the board with proposed bridge‑funding scenarios and timelines, and with updates on productivity revenue assumptions and data reporting milestones.
