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Board adopts Behavioral Health Services Act plan and asks staff to return with loan-repayment schedule
Summary
Supervisors approved submission of Lake County's BHSA integrated plan and directed staff to propose a loan-repayment plan (board favored a 7-year schedule) after Behavioral Health reported new federal administrative/QI claims expected to generate roughly $1 million annually.
The Board of Supervisors on June 23 adopted Lake County's Behavioral Health Services Act (BHSA) integrated plan and authorized the chair to certify submission to the state. The plan reorganizes local Mental Health Services Act spending into the BHSA buckets (35% full-service partnerships, 35% behavioral health services and supports, 30% housing) and requires enhanced reporting and specified evidence-based services. Behavioral Health Director presented the plan and answered questions about program realignments and the closure of county-run peer centers, which staff said will be offset by integrating peer supports into clinical teams and expanding community outreach.
Behavioral Health also presented newly eligible administrative and quality-improvement (QI) Medi-Cal claims that staff said will produce approximately $1 million in recurring federal revenue. Director Elise Jones and her fiscal staff proposed applying those receipts to reduce the department's existing general-fund loan; supervisors expressed support for a longer repayment schedule to avoid destabilizing behavioral health operations. The board gave consensus direction for staff to return with a proposed formal repayment plan, and several supervisors asked for quarterly reporting during the repayment period. The board signaled support for a seven-year repay schedule with the option for lump-sum payments as additional revenues arrive.
The BHSA adoption formalizes service priorities and triggers an immediate process to issue requests for proposals where the county will contract services it cannot directly provide. The county will also pursue partnerships to expand housing, assertive community treatment and other state-prescribed programs that must meet fidelity standards. The board approved the resolution to submit and certify the integrated plan for fiscal years 2026'27 through 2028'29.
