County seeks faster mental‑health connections; discharge timelines and costs remain a pressure

Director Sophia Thompson told the board the department aims to provide adult mental‑health targeted case management within 10 days and reported improvement from 18% in 2022 to 22% in 2025 — a figure Thompson said represented 108 of 491 referrals in 2025.

She explained certified community behavioral health clinics (CCBHCs) now provide an alternate intake pathway that allows residents to receive case management directly from community clinics, expanding capacity beyond the county's front door.

On discharges from state‑operated services, Thompson said faster discharge reduces reliance on the most restrictive and expensive levels of care; she cited a county cost exceeding $17 million in 2025 and said the department improved discharges from 45% (about 23 individuals in 2023) to 51% (54 individuals in 2024), with 2025 dipping to 48% while still supporting 72 individuals that year.

Thompson and commissioners discussed housing availability, waiver processes and partnerships with state and county providers; she noted that delays are often not clinical but related to lack of community housing and waiver capacity and that new positions and coordination with aging and disability services have supported progress.