www.montereycountynow.com APRIL 23-29, 2026 MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY 17 The idea that people in crisis need mental health support is not controversial. But how to deliver the public dollars that go to the entities that actually deliver those services is another matter. In 2024, the California Legislature asked voters to support Proposition 1, which did two things. One was to approve $6.4 million for treatment and housing for veterans and people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness. The other thing was to rewrite the Mental Health Services Act, the 22-year-old way of distributing funding to county governments, which could then distribute it to local organizations providing a range of interventions to patients. Voters approved Prop. 1 by a sliver, with just 50.1 percent of the vote, and now it is phasing in through 2026, as a three-year plan rolls out. What was formerly the Mental Health Services Act is now the Behavioral Health Services Act (BHSA). “It is not simply a name change. It represents a major system change in how counties plan, fund and deliver behavioral health services,” Shannon Castro of the County Behavioral Health Department said in a media briefing on April 15, a week-anda-half after the draft plan was released for public comment. “We are in a significant moment of transition for behavioral health systems across California.” In general, it marks a shift from preventive work to supporting patients in crisis, focusing on the unhoused community, with services like housing. County Behavioral Health officials have historically relied on trusted community groups to provide a broader range of services like counseling, substance abuse prevention and more, funding them through the MHSA. An early proposal for the BHSA warned many of those partners—organizations like The Epicenter in Salinas, The Village Project in Seaside and United Way Monterey County—that reductions of $6.4 million in funding would be spread across their 21 organizations. Programs that resulted in a whopping 85,135 engagements in fiscal year 2024-25 would lose their primary funding source. “Monterey County Behavioral Health has historically utilized MHSA funds primarily to support direct behavioral health services across the system of care,” according to the draft plan. “Under the Behavioral Health Services Act, the shift in funding structure, combined with the 5-percent statewide allocation, results in an effective 35-percent reduction in locally available service dollars… Absorbing a reduction of this magnitude would significantly disrupt existing service capacity, including outpatient treatment, full-service partnerships, and other core supports that individuals and families currently rely upon.” The idea of shifting the focus to address but this shakeup challenges many organizations that have long relied on state funds, by way of the county, to deliver actual services to actual people on the ground. Those 85,135 engagements are 85,135 real people—whether it’s new moms facing postpartum depression, elders experiencing loneliness, children enduring bullying—who got help. The Center for Community Advocacy contracts with a licensed clinical social worker to meet farmworker clients where they are at, in the field or at church. The nonprofit historically received $250,000 annually in MHSA funds. “Where are those resources going to come from?” says CCA Executive Director Joel Hernandez Laguna. He says impacted groups are considering partnering to apply directly to the state for funding, but they expect that to be competitive. He plans to fundraise through Monterey County Gives! to keep services going. Colleen Beye is executive director of the Monterey County chapter of the National Alliance on Mental Illness. “NAMI California strongly supported Prop. 1 because families were promised a stronger, more responsive behavioral health system,” she wrote. “Unfortunately, there is now a serious disconnect between the intent of the law and how it is being implemented at the county level.” The BHSA plan must abide by state law, not local preferences. Public comment is still welcome until 5pm on May 18. You can view the plan at bit. ly/MontereyCountyBHSAdraft and submit comments to bhsa@ countyofmonterey.gov. Sara Rubin is the Weekly’s editor. Reach her at sara@montereycountynow.com. Mental Gymnastics A new method for funding mental health is rolling out, with challenges. By Sara Rubin FISHING EXPEDITION…When Squid goes fishing, Squid figures out where the spot prawns and midwater shrimp are all hanging out and it doesn’t take long before Squid has a tasty meal. Squid discovered it’s a similar strategy for a national law firm based in Malibu seeking clients ripe for the picking in Salinas. Specifically, the Clarkson Law Firm is fishing for weary, underpaid adjunct faculty at Hartnell College through an ad suggesting that they may be entitled to compensation: “If you teach part-time at Hartnell College, you may be a victim of illegal wage theft… contact us for a free assessment today.” That California Community College adjuncts are underpaid is well known. They are paid for classroom time but have typically not been paid for work outside of the classroom, including lesson planning, grading and communicating with students. That may be about to change. In February, Long Beach City College agreed to pay $18 million to its adjuncts in a class-action lawsuit. A second lawsuit filed in Sacramento naming the California Community College as a defendant could lead to standardized pay for adjuncts across the entire system. Clarkson sees dollar signs, or it wouldn’t be fishing for clients. Squid wants all faculty to be well paid. Lawyers, not so much. WATER WAY…Squid’s heard all the sayings— whiskey is for drinking and water is for fighting; water flows downhill, except toward money—so Squid is never surprised to see insults hurled in the world of Monterey County water politics. But now the pressure is on for the Salinas Valley Basin Groundwater Sustainability Agency to actually do something, with a clock ticking most immediately toward an April 30 deadline to respond to a displeased State Department of Water Resources, which wants specifics on the plan to slow the problem of seawater intrusion (see story, p. 10). Squid has been following this saga for a while. The hydrological story is less interesting than the political story about who will benefit from new water infrastructure (and who will pay for it). Attorney Tom Virsik represents southern Salinas Valley agricultural clients, who are not directly impacted by seawater intrusion. In an April 13 letter to the SVBGSA board, Virsik wanted to clear up that DWR might take action on growers pumping from the seawater-intruded area, but not his South County clients. He also suggested an ultimatum for media interviews for SVBGSA staff: “Until educated, staff should cease communication with media so as to prevent additional misinformation.” Huh. Squid gets that irrigators and property owners will disagree about who should bear the costs, but Squid suggests the opposite: Staff of public agencies should openly talk to the press any time. THE LOCAL SPIN SQUID FRY THE MISSION OF MONTEREY COUNTY WEEKLY IS TO INSPIRE INDEPENDENT THINKING AND CONSCIOUS ACTION, ETC. “We are in a significant moment of transition.” SEND SQUID A TIP: squid@montereycountynow.com
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