Rules Committee forwards two Mental Health SF appointments amid concerns about bed capacity

The Rules Committee voted to forward two appointments to the Mental Health SF Implementation Working Group to the full Board of Supervisors, noting that seat 6 (Steve Fields) requires a residency waiver. Both appointments were recommended by unanimous vote of the members present.

Steve Fields, seeking reappointment to seat 6, described his service as an original member of the implementation working group and said the group is approaching an important stage in moving toward a coherent implementation strategy. Supervisor Rafael Mandelman pressed Fields on the city’s persistent lack of placements for the sickest patients — specifically subacute locked beds, dual‑diagnosis beds and board‑and‑care capacity — and asked how the city will both expand placements and preserve existing capacity.

Fields, who said his day job is executive director of the Work in Progress Foundation, replied that the fundamental problem is the absence of a fully articulated continuum of care: “Case management is a critical part of any behavioral health care system, but it isn't treatment,” he said, arguing that individuals discharged from locked care need treatment‑focused, recovery‑oriented services in the community to prevent recidivism. He urged building community treatment capacity and dual‑diagnosis residential options rather than relying solely on housing placements without embedded treatment.

Dr. Monique Lazar, executive director at Rafiki Coalition for Health and Wellness and applicant for seat 8, described long committee meetings and a focus on equity and parity, and said the working group is pressing the department for better alignment between city operations and community providers.

No public comment was received. The committee voted to forward the two appointments with recommendation to the full Board and recorded that seat 6 requires a residency waiver; the committee adjourned afterwards.