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Alameda County task force delivers 58-care recommendations; supervisors vote to send plan to full Board
Summary
At a joint Health and Public Protection meeting, county staff and community co-chairs presented the final CareFirst, Jails Last Task Force report, which contains 58 recommendations to shift care for people with serious behavioral-health needs out of jails and into community settings. Supervisors voted unanimously to agendize the recommendations for the full Board and public commenters urged immediate funding and oversight.
At a joint meeting of Alameda CountyHealth and Public Protection committees, county officials and community members presented the final CareFirst, Jails Last Task Force report and asked the Board of Supervisors to move quickly to implement its 58 recommendations to reduce incarceration for people with behavioral-health needs.
RDA Consultingconsultant Amelia Freedman summarized the two-year task-force process that winnowed roughly 178 proposals to 58 recommendations across nine strategy areas, including crisis response, diversion, reentry, workforce development and fiscal transparency. Dr. Karen Tribble, director of the Alameda County Behavioral Health Department, said the department identified roughly $650,000 in recommendations that were not already covered by existing budgets but said most changes could be absorbed internally; she also distinguished those costs from a separate $50 million forensic plan already accounted for by the county.
The report stresses systemwide coordination and equity. Community co-chair Kimberly Graves urged creation of an African American Resource and Wellness Center, citing disproportionate incarceration rates among Black residents; she called for 24/7 mobile crisis coverage, more subacute treatment beds and stronger post-crisis peer supports. Mia Cooper Khan, co-chair of the Recommendations Ad Hoc Committee, called for expanded full-service partnerships, low-barrier reception housing and a larger peer workforce with appropriate pay and training. Peggy Raman highlighted pre-arraignment diversion, expanded collaborative courts and fiscal transparency, including public reporting on the Babu settlement and county behavioral-health spending.
County and RDA speakers acknowledged data gaps in some agency plans and recommended a special implementation committee and a funding study to identify public and private sources. Dr. Tribble announced the county has obtained an $8,250,000 capital grant for the incompetent-to-stand-trial (IST) population and said the county is planning roughly 88 new IST beds across facilities, though detailed bed counts and timelines remain in development.
Public commenters filled the meeting room and the online queue. Dozens of advocates, family members and service providers urged the Board to adopt the full set of recommendations and to dedicate funds already saved from a halted jail expansion. Multiple speakers repeated a common request that $26.6 million previously set aside for a canceled jail mental-health unit be reallocated to community-based CareFirst initiatives. Several speakers also urged quarterly reporting and sustained oversight by the Mental Health Advisory Board.
Supervisor Carson moved to accept the task-force recommendations and asked the Board president to agendize the package for the full Board as soon as possible; Supervisor Tam seconded. Roll-call votes recorded Supervisors Carson, Tam and Marquez as voting yes; Supervisors Miley and Halbert were excused. The motion passed unanimously among those present.
RDA said it will integrate committee feedback into an executive summary and submit the consolidated report by the end of the week. Supervisors signaled support for near-term steps including convening an implementation committee, pursuing grant and Prop 1/CalAIM funding opportunities and scheduling regular updates so the Board can track deliverables and timelines.
