Greetings!
As you know, the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors-approved Bylaws of the Behavioral Health Board (BHB) require the BHB to:
- Submit an annual report to the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors on the needs and performance of the County’s behavioral health system.
- Advise the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors and the local behavioral health director as to any aspect of the local behavioral health and substance use disorder programs.
- Review and approve the procedures used to ensure citizen and professional involvement at all stage of the planning process.
- Review and comment on the County’s performance outcome data and communicate its findings to the State Behavioral Health Planning Council.
The BHB has determined that, in order to produce our bylaws-required Annual Report, to fulfill its remaining responsibilities under the bylaws, and to fulfill its responsibilities under the legislation known as Proposition One (to advise the Sonoma County Department of Health Services (DHS) on the development of its required three-year Integrated Plan), the BHB needed to establish a Standing Committee consisting of four members of the BHB. The BHB voted to establish an Annual Report/Integrated Plan Committee, and three of its members were appointed to the Committee at its meeting on November 18, 2025. The Committee members are Gregory Fearon (Chair), Alexandra Jacobs, and Angelina Grab.
The BHB’s Annual Report/Integrated Plan Committee (AR/IP) met for its first meeting on January 6th, 2026 from 4pm-5pm in the Santa Rosa Conference Room at 1450 Neotomas Way, Santa Rosa. BHB Members Alexandra Jacobs and Gregory Fearon were in attendance. Member Angelina Grab attempted to join via Zoom, but failed to succeed due to erroneous posting information from DHS on the published agenda.
The discussion which occurred focused on the two questions posed on the noticed agenda:
- How to Gather Annual Report Material
- How to Review and Advise the Department and Board on its Integrated Plan .
The AR/IP Committee decided to undertake three activities which will support its development of its Annual Report to the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors over the next three months;
- Assemble and publish, available to the public, all materials it can find on the “Health of Health Services” in a format which allows members of the public to comment in real time on the materials.
- Prior to each monthly meeting of the AR/IP Committee, provide editorial direction toward phased completion of the Annual Report
- By March 31st, approve and forward a proposed BHB AR/IP Committee-Recommended Annual Report to the BHB, and DHS.
The Committee also discussed a workplan to meet its responsibilities to advise DHS, and the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors, on the Proposition One FY 26-29 Integrated Plan. The proposed Integrated Plan is being developed by DHS, and staff provided the BHB with a schedule last July which outlined DHS activities conducting stakeholder input, internal Department research, and collaboration with the California Department of Health Care Services (CDHCS) in anticipation of forwarding a draft Integrated Plan to the Sonoma County Executive Officer this month for approval, and to the CDHCS by March 31st. Upon receiving comments from CDHCS, DHS is then planning on producing a final draft of the Integrated Plan, which would then be published and set for a public hearing at the May 18th meeting of the BHB. Comments received from the BHB and the public would be considered for inclusion in the recommended Final Integrated Plan presented to the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors for approval at its June 16th meeting.
The AR/IP Committee adjourned its first meeting at 5:20pm.
Homeless Emergency Assistance Program Association 