Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Behavioral Health topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
County creates centralized Access and Crisis Services division for behavioral health
Summary
The board approved reorganizing behavioral health to centralize 24/7 access, crisis response and contract management into a new Access and Crisis Services division, moving existing staff into a 20‑FTE structure and adding a program manager to oversee central access and contracts.
The San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors on Oct. 22 approved the Health Agency's plan to create an Access and Crisis Services division intended to centralize 24/7 entry and crisis services for behavioral health.
Dr. Star Graber, behavioral health division manager (speaker 6), told the board the reorganization consolidates multiple crisis functions spread across divisions into a single division to improve coordination for mobile crisis, crisis stabilization, psychiatric health facility placements, a Central Coast hotline, dispatch and contract monitoring. "This is a process that began a few years ago with our strategic plan," Graber said, adding the change should improve access, performance monitoring and transitions to next‑level services.
Deputy Director Frank Warren (speaker 26) said the new division will include 20 FTE, 18 of which are repurposed from existing positions, and requested the county authorize repurposing vacancies and adding a program manager to supervise the central access team and contract administration. "The division will exist with 20 FTE. 18 of those are preexisting positions that are moving from other divisions," Warren said.
Board members pressed for more detail on contract administration and outcomes measures. Supervisor Gibson asked whether contract oversight would track outputs or clinical outcomes; Warren said the new structure will combine administrative contract expertise with clinical oversight so the county can monitor both performance outcomes and clinical referrals.
Board members also discussed exploring a behavioral health urgent care to avoid default medical screening in emergency departments; staff said a feasibility study and grant activity are underway to identify staffing, hospital coordination and funding for an urgent‑care model.
The board voted unanimously to receive and file the presentation and to approve the resolution amending the position allocation list to support the new division. Staff will proceed to reassign positions as outlined, name a program manager and return with performance metrics and further planning for urgent‑care options.
What to watch next: staff recruitment and performance metrics for the new division, contract oversight details, and potential near‑term grant requests to fund urgent‑care pilots.
Quotes in context are from the presenters who introduced and explained the reorganization plan.
