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Region 8 behavioral health plan names Taos County accountable entity and outlines $8.29 million in initial investments
Summary
Sylvia Barela presented Region 8's four-year behavioral health plan under SB 3, listing five priorities and early access awards: $2 million (early access) and $6.29 million over three fiscal years, plus a tribal set-aside of about $453,000. Taos County will serve as the region’s accountable entity.
Sylvia Barela presented the Region 8 behavioral health plan to the Taos County Commission on June 23, describing a nine-month planning process under Senate Bill 3 (Behavioral Health Reform and Investment Act) and identifying five regional priorities to guide funding and implementation across Taos, Colfax and Union counties and associated Pueblos.
Barela said Region 8’s top priority is care navigation and coordination, including a hub-and-spoke model that uses shared technology and trained navigators to close referral loops across justice, health care and community providers. Other priorities are housing and transportation supports, youth prevention and school-based supports, workforce and provider sustainability, and substance-use and co-occurring clinical services.
Taos County is the region’s accountable entity, she said, responsible for receiving and overseeing funds, data collection and reporting. Barela said the legislature has approved $2,000,000 of early access funding (the county may invoice for those funds) and identified $6,290,000 that can be accessed across the region from next fiscal year through 2029, allocated across priorities (including $2,000,000 for care navigation and $2,000,000 for substance use/co-occurring services). She also said tribal set-aside funding of about $453,000 is available for Taos Pueblo and Picurís Pueblo to propose their uses.
Commissioners asked how the region will divide dollars among governments and providers; Barela said that process rests with the accountable entity (Taos County) and the regional partners, and that a mix of RFPs, intergovernmental agreements and locally proposed budgets will be used. She and other presenters emphasized the need for sustained legislative funding to keep the trust fund fully operational and said the current allocations address initial priorities but are not sufficient to meet all regional needs.
Barela closed by listing expected outcomes: expanded access to behavioral health services, improved care coordination and youth prevention programs, increased transportation and housing supports, and steps toward a regional certified community behavioral health clinic to strengthen reimbursement and workforce incentives. The commission did not vote on adoption of the plan at this meeting; Barela said that approving a formal plan would require a later action.
