Alameda County providers warn Prop 1 transition could cut services for 15,000 residents; collaborative seeks bridge funding

Alameda County supervisors heard an urgent appeal Monday from the Alameda County Behavioral Health Collaborative and dozens of community providers asking the board to identify short‑term bridge funding to prevent an abrupt loss of prevention and outreach services after the state’s Proposition 1 restructuring.

David Channer, president of the Collaborative, told the Health Committee that the county stands to lose core programs under the Behavioral Health Services Act transition. "We're gonna see roughly 15,000 consumers at risk for losing services," he said, adding that many programs being cut provide crisis‑averting supports, not only prevention.

The Collaborative’s presentation put numbers on the impact: Nargis Dillon said about 15,000 people receive direct mental‑health services that are at risk and roughly another 20,000 clients could lose outreach and education. "We're turning the continuum of care into a crisis, a continuum of crisis," Dillon said. Stacy Katz, vice president of the Collaborative, asked the board to consider three mitigation steps: allocate bridge funding for fiscal year 2026–27 (the Collaborative quantified $21,000,000 in cuts to its members), pursue a crosswalk to Medi‑Cal reimbursement where eligible, and create an ongoing interagency workgroup to smooth the transition.

County staff confirmed the scale of the problem. A behavioral health official summarized notices the department issued that together comprise approximately $53,000,000 in local program reductions and eliminations; staff said a combination of narrower BHSA eligibility categories and anticipated revenue reductions from federal changes (HR 1) drove the shortfall. The department said it has been working to reclassify programs and to identify funding that could be repurposed but acknowledged important unknowns remain about state reporting categories and match requirements.

Providers and people with lived experience packed the public‑comment period. Jamie Almanza of Bay Area Community Services warned that the organization would close wellness centers and that her agency could lose 4,000 clients, increasing pressure on emergency rooms and jail systems. School‑based and youth programs also warned of cuts; Zoe Everly of Bridal Support Services said the Teens 4 Life suicide‑prevention curriculum will be eliminated in June under the current plan. Roots Community Health reported more than $1,000,000 in proposed reductions that would end a specialty African‑centered program, according to its founding CEO.

Supervisors and county staff responded by directing Behavioral Health and County Health staff to compile a detailed inventory of affected programs and funding options and to convene an ad hoc CPAC workgroup. Supervisor Tam thanked presenters and said, "We are committed to trying to make sure there's a bridging between MHSA and BHSA." The board scheduled a CPAC work session for March 19 to review mitigation options and directed staff to return with recommendations, including possible uses of Measure W, Measure C, the Essential Services fund and other county resources.

What happens next: staff said they will finalize a list of impacted programs and present options for bridge funding and contract retractions as soon as feasible; the Collaborative asked that any bridge funding be in place before June 30 to avoid contract terminations. The committee did not take a formal vote on funding at Monday’s meeting.