What I learned from the Monthly Behavioral Health Board Meeting

For at least a year, I have been asking that the Behavioral Health Board be given information on the status of the development of program services for those with substance use disorders. With the termination of our county’s ability to claim Medi-CAL reimbursement for such services at least a decade ago, many have been eager to hear what programs we have begun within the resurrection of Organized Drug Medi-Cal Delivery Systems, officially inaugurated almost a year ago.

So when I read in the agenda released last week that Will Gayowski, Sonoma County Department of Health Services Deputy Division Director for Substance Use Disorder Programs, would be giving a presentation to the Board at last night’s monthly meeting, I made sure that it was on my calendar.

I was not disappointed by what I heard. His 45-minute slide show and responsiveness to Board questions was excellent, and I left with a much richer understanding of the work that has been and is being accomplished. More importantly, I came away with a much clearer view of the understanding of the eligibility parameters surrounding the delivery of program services. My perception that SUD services were as narrowly-focused as county-delivered mental health services was wrong, and the insight that provided me has re-charged my optomism about building a more comprehensive integration of services for unhoused individuals in the County.

Will’s presentation contained three key revelations: 1) Access to client assessments is greatly more available, and opportunities to reduce the confusion and duplication are being recommended; 2) those eligible for services need not be as severly-impacted as needed for mental health services; and 3) services are more easily reimbursed by Medi-CAL.

Concentrating on the more recent awards from Measure O and Opioid Settlement funding, Will’s slideshow walked the Board through the variety of agencies, programs, and services which are appearing for our clients. Jan Cobaleda-Kegler, Behavioral Health Directors, augmented his presentation by detailing the Department’s plans for the uses of Measure O and Realignment funding to implement programs for youth, and to address racial and geographic inequities in service delivery. Both she and Will provided new perspectives on the reasoning why the County’s current misalignment in its use of Measure O funding (favoring the buckets funding mental health and not substance use disorder). I’m going to recommend that the slide show and video recording of the meeting be shared with the Sonoma County Homeless Coalition, and the Measure O Oversight Citizens Committee as soon as possible to improve their understanding of substance use disorder program service expansion in our County.