Humboldt County advisory board reviews draft BHSA plan, $11.27 million in county allocations and community concerns

Humboldt County behavioral health staff on Thursday presented a draft 20262029 Behavioral Health Services Act (BHSA) integrated plan and solicited final public comment before the plan goes to the Board of Supervisors on June 16.

Oliver Gonzalez, behavioral health program manager, told the advisory board the BHSA is a restructuring of the Mental Health Services Act (Proposition 63) following Proposition One and described how the state divides the revenue from the 1% tax on income exceeding $1 million. "That 1% income tax on income exceeding a million dollars is still very much the soul and spirit of the BHSA," Gonzalez said, and explained the state keeps 10% of collections for statewide agencies while 90% is allocated to counties.

Why it matters: The plan sets how Humboldt County proposes to spend its BHSA allocation for the next three years. Gonzalez presented draft county allocations of about $3.3 million for housing interventions, about $3.9 million for a full-service partnership (known locally as the Comprehensive Community Treatment program) and about $3.9 million for behavioral health services and supports, a draft total of $11,273,341. "These are draft numbers," Gonzalez cautioned during the presentation, noting figures may shift before final submission.

Board members and community attendees focused questions on how those dollars will be used on the ground. Gonzalez explained the housing interventions bucket is intended to reduce homelessness by funding interim settings (hotels, non-congregate shelters, recuperative care) and by transitioning people to permanent settings (permanent supportive housing, apartments, accessory dwelling units, shared housing and tiny homes). He said the state envisions a managed-care partnership in which individuals could receive up to six months of transitional rent through managed care and then transition to BHSA-funded permanent supports.

Concerns raised included whether trailer/mobile-home parks and room-and-board settings are eligible (staff said they would need to confirm technical program rules), whether there will be sufficient case-management oversight for shared housing, and whether counties will have the staffing and housing capacity required by the new state rules. One participant asked about a report that HUD had changed its support for the housing-first model; Gonzalez said that was "news to me" and stressed that any formal change would come from state guidance.

The presentation also covered BHSS rules that emphasize early intervention: at least 51% of BHSS dollars must support early intervention, and at least 51% of that portion must be for people 25 and younger. Gonzalez described allowable services (outpatient mental health and substance-use disorder services, workforce training, outreach and innovation pilots) and noted some innovation projects are nearing sunset dates but may be supported under the new buckets.

Community engagement: Staff said outreach included 17 community meetings with 159 attendees and an online community survey with 148 responses. Top themes reported were concerns about BHSA implementation and timelines, increased support for youth and early-intervention services, expanded access and regional distribution of services (participants noted services appear concentrated in Eureka), workforce shortages and a need for bilingual clinicians and peer supports, and housing instability.

Next steps: Gonzalez said staff will incorporate todays feedback into the integrated plan, which is scheduled to go to the Humboldt County Board of Supervisors for approval on June 16. After local approval, the plan will be submitted to the Department of Healthcare Services and the Behavioral Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission for final implementation and budget authorization.

Board actions: Earlier in the meeting the advisory board voted to approve the minutes of the April 23 meeting and voted to forward three membership applications (Alan Miller, Eddie Morgan and Saul/S. Lopez) to the Board of Supervisors to fill advisory board seats. The motion on the minutes was moved by Sean and seconded by Peter; the membership motion was approved by voice vote with no opposed votes recorded.

Gonzalez and other staff committed to follow up on technical questions raised by attendees, including specific eligibility for trailer parks and the precise oversight mechanisms for shared housing. Community members and board members urged the department to continue outreach to underrepresented regions, particularly Eastern Humboldt and tribal communities, to improve engagement before finalizing allocations.

The advisory board adjourned after routine communications and committee updates. The county posted meeting materials and the draft integrated plan in a packet available to the public; staff provided an email for comments and reminded participants the public comment period remains open.