On August 18th, the Sonoma County Presiding Court Judge responded to our request to allow digital recording of mental health diversion court hearings by requesting to know which specific case hearings we were seeking to record. Denying our request for a general approval of all hearings, the Court instead asked for requests for each individual hearing. On Monday, August 24th, we will comply by transmitting to the Presiding Court Judge individual requests for every hearing scheduled before Superior Court Judges Karlene Navarro and David Kim between Monday and September 3rd. We’ve downloaded the schedule for Courtroom 64 where the cases are heard, will submit requests to the Presiding Judge for each appearance, and will be contacting the nearly 100 individuals who will be attending. Our goals include demonstrating to both the Court and the participants the value of easily producing written summaries of the hearing using the digital recording devices currently being marketed and worn in meetings.

Last week, I attended a monthly meeting of the Sonoma County Maternal Child and Adolescent Health Advisory Board. Most of the meeting was consumed with a report on the the latest guideline changes to WIC: USDA’s Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infant, and Children. I wore the Fieldy necklace we’ve been distributing to community organizers within our California Transparency Project. After the meeting, I sent the two-page summary of what was discussed to my laptop, had it reviewed by a podcast generation feature on Adobe Acrobat, turned it into an MP3 and placed it into a video using GarageBand and IMovie, and uploaded it into a YouTube Video.

In another example of elevating what is discussed in public meetings to produce broadcast -quality public education, check out some work we did a few weeks ago to publicize two issues of concern to a community homeless advocacy group.

HEAPA has been working on providing public access to the safety net contracts issued by Sonoma County over the past year, and those which it will depend upon to serve the residents of the County for the next three years. We’re still working on a single spreadsheet which lists all of the $802 million the Department of Health Services has included in its Three-Year Integrated Plan for 2026-2029. When done, you will not only be able to see what the county is providing, but it will contain links to the actual contracts.

But while we work on the spreadsheet for current year contracts, we couldn’t think of any reason why we couldn’t begin to share a folder we have which contains the past year contracts the Health Department sent us in response to our pubic records request. We also have a folder with some past year contracts issued by the Human Services Department.

We’re eager to receive all of the safety net contracts issued by the County in both departments for the current year. That spreadsheet should give all of us a much clearer picture of the impacts of federal and state cutbacks in funding, and provide all of us with exactly what we can expect of the hardworking staff in the dozens of programs we have depended upon in the past to support our futures.

Created on Jul 27, 2026 17:54:41

Summary

You attended a meeting focused on behavioral health and legal petition processes, specifically touching on Care Court proceedings. The group discussed the challenges of case management, featuring stories of individuals overcoming severe symptoms to re-engage with their families. Key logistics included upcoming participation in the NAMI Walk on October 17th, contact information for licensed clinicians like Colleen Christie and Jackie Dean, and the technicalities of e-filing court petitions while maintaining client confidentiality.

CARE Court Overview and Eligibility

• Civil, not criminal court: Focuses on voluntary engagement with no risk of jail
• Qualifying diagnoses: Schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, and psychotic disorders
• Expanded as of Jan 1, 2025, to include bipolar disorder with psychotic features
• Does not cover autism, traumatic brain injury (TBI), or personality disorders without psychosis
• Filing process: Requires CARE-100 and CARE-101 forms
• Evidence of diagnosis (e.g., hospital discharge, clinical records) must be attached
• Filing available in person at civil clerk’s office or via e-filing

Petitioner Categories

• Family/Close Contacts: Parents, spouses, siblings, roommates, or partners
• First Responders: Law enforcement, fire departments, or mobile crisis units (e.g., inRESPONSE)
• Licensed Clinicians: Behavioral health providers (LMFTs, LCSWs)
• Self-referral: Individuals meeting criteria can technically file for themselves
• Court/Justice Partners: Increasing trend of direct referrals from criminal or LPS courts

Operational Workflow

• Prima Facie Showing: Judge reviews filing to ensure petitioner relationship and qualifying diagnosis exist
• Behavioral Health Substitution: Once accepted, County Behavioral Health takes over as petitioner from families or first responders
• Service of Process: Significant delays occur when potential respondents are unhoused or difficult to locate
• Treatment Team: Includes the judge, respondent’s counsel (Public Defender), County Counsel, and clinicians

Housing and Resources

• BHBH Housing (Arrowwood): 80-90 beds available for CARE Court and diversion clients
• Facility is unlocked with a curfew (typically 10 PM – 6 AM)
• Provides up to one year of supportive services
• Warm Handoffs: Efforts made to coordinate releases from jail to community care to avoid “dumping” on the street

Parallel Systems and Diversion

• Mental Health Diversion: Runs in parallel with CARE Court for justice-involved individuals
• IST (Incompetent to Stand Trial): New funding used for a dedicated attorney to prevent state hospital transfers
• by providing local treatment
• Quota/Fine System: Counties are fined (e.g., $2.9M) if they exceed quotas for sending people to State Hospitals
• Conservatorship (LPS): Distinct from CARE Court; involves three-day (5150) to one-year holds for “grave disability”

Mayor Stapp, and members of the City Council:

Yesterday, my colleagues and I on your Housing Authority authorized the extension and subordination of long-term loans made on your behalf to allow community providers of low cost housing to continue or transfer program operations for properties in Santa Rosa used to house autistic and homeless individuals and families.  It was particularly satisfying to me because I headed the requesting agencies when the loans were first made.  But much has changed in America for those of us dedicated to providing low cost homes.

Rental prices for nonprofit housing are dependent on the cost of loans we needed to build the housing.  The fewer and cheaper our loans, the lower the rents could be, and the more we could spend on maintaining the units. Yesterday’s actions by the Housing Authority insured you’ll have thirty more years of low rents and healthy facilities.  Housing built with state grants which don’t require repayment, as in agenda item 13.6, allow us to provide homes for our lowest income residents.  

But it takes more than a facility to ease someone back inside whose life has been destroyed on the streets.  Caritas Phase II is intended for veterans, chronic homeless, and those at risk of homelessness.  And no expectation of success can be counted on unless the addition of mental health and substance use disorder services are provided.  Over the past forty years, I can tell you that nothing has been clearer. The application you are considering approving tonight needs more than California Homekey+ facility funding.  It needs mental health and substance use disorder funding from the County and state to successfully meet the needs of your residents.

Greetings!

Almost a year ago, a joint hearing of the California Senate and Assembly Select Committees on the Nonprofits was held in room 1200 of the State Capitol.  The attached agenda and background paper were provided.

In two weeks, another joint hearing will occur.

Joint Select Committee Hearing Set

We encourage you to tune into – or attend – the upcoming Joint Hearing of the Senate and Assembly Select Committees on the Nonprofit Sector.  This is an important opportunity for state representatives to gain deeper insights into the current challenges facing nonprofits in California. The hearing is scheduled for 1:30pm, Wednesday August 5th (in Capitol Room 126, for those in Sacramento).  Two panels of nonprofit leaders – including CalNonprofits CEO Geoff Green – will discuss a number of critical issues, including:The economic impact of our state’s nonprofit sectorThe DOJs efforts to modernize its Registry of Charities and FundraisersRecommendations for improving how the state works with its nonprofit partners  CalNonprofits was instrumental in the creation of these two important committees, which provide leadership in Sacramento on behalf of our sector and help inform legislators about the critical role nonprofits play in communities across the state.  How to watch/attend:💻 Stream it live👤 Attend in person: Capitol Room 126, Sacramento 95814

You don’t want to miss it.

I talked for an hour with Ana Booker, recently appointed to the Behavioral Health Board by Supervisor James Gore. She has attended a past meetings of the Board, though has missed the past two meetings while traveling. “I can’t believe they haven’t spent more time talking to themselves about their perceptions of Health Department program conditions.” said Booker, who serves as Outreach Manager for West County Community Services. “I’m learning as quickly and thoroughly as I can about why it is so hard for our clients to obtain services and housing”. Booker also serves as a Navigator within InRESPONSE, Santa Rosa’s mobile crisis support program, funded by the County Department of Health Services through Measure O funding.

This morning, the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors gave the Department of Health Services Director (Nolan Sullivan) two gifts. The first was the appointment, starting tomorrow, of Mia Shim, MD, MPH as the new Sonoma County Health Officer. Dr. Shim served recently as interim health officer and chief medical officer for Public Health in Seattle, Kings County, Washington, one of the largest local public health systems in the country – serving 2.3 million residents. More on her career can be found here.

The second gift was what Nolan described as “a moonshot, and probably a career-defining project”. Authorizing the termination of a decade-old effort to utilize $40 million in State funding to build a 72-bed facility for mental health treatment and recovery of jail inmates, and the redirection of $27 million in local match funding and up to $9 million in Opioid Settlement funding, the Board approved the acceptance of a new $54 million State grant to build two 16-bed Mental Health Recovery Centers and fifty-six Substance Disorder beds on either or both of the current Orenda Center Detox site and Los Guillicos properties in Eastern Santa Rosa. Read more on a previous HEAPA post.

The Board voted to give permission to the Department to fast-track a community Request for Design-Build Proposals in the two months to see if the remaining gap in projected costs can be cut to what might possibly be funded from every other County and regionally-contracted source imaginable. “If we fail, we’ll continue to pay an enormous amount of money to send our residents to distant private facilities far from their families”, said Director Sullivan.

Those without system power are vulnerable when medical and food requirements demand life-sustaining equipment. And when power outages, of whatever duration, cease the operation of refrigeration, body-support, and mobility devices, it is critically important. HEAPA has purchased some multi-use, portable power batteries which will be targeted to homes and encampments which it will identify as critical locations to support the provision of food and medical support to homeless and at risk of homeless in our community. Our efforts should be directed toward those with the least amount of power to meet basic needs.