A generally upbeat Napa County
grand jury report on the county Health and Human Services Agency (HHSA)
recommends reviewing Upvalley services and streamlining a grant screening
method.
The Health and Human Services
Agency has a $93 million annual budget and provides services ranging from
public health to mental health to child welfare. It served more than 33,000
people in 2014.
“Health and Human Services
Agency, Vast and Visionary” is the tone-setting title of the 2014-15 grand jury
report.
“Overall, the grand jury was
pleased with the services provided by HHSA,” the report said. “However, we
recognize a need to improve up valley services in the area of drug treatment
for both youths and adults.”
For example, the report said,
youths from Upvalley receiving drug treatment services travel to the city of
Napa. The grand jury doesn’t consider giving the youths free bus passes for the
journey to be sufficient.
The Health and Human Services
Agency seems to lack specific measures to determine the adequacy of its upper
valley services, the report said. It recommended the county review the
situation by year’s end and require that, when feasible, upper valley services
be provided at upper valley locations.
“We agree we need to look at
Upvalley services, especially around alcohol and drugs, but other ways too,”
Health and Human Services Agency Director Howard Himes said on Thursday.
Himes and the grand jury report
noted that agency has decided to locate a drug treatment counselor in Calistoga
and has selected a site. First, though, the state must certify the location.
It’s uncertain how long this will take.
“We’re in constant
communication with the state,” Himes said.
Also, the agency will assess
the health and social service needs of three neighborhoods, one in Calistoga,
Himes said. The approach involves looking at the unique aspects of a community
and making the community part of the decision-making, he said.
“We want to be imbedded in that
community, within the neighborhoods of that community in a way that meets
specific needs of the community,” he said.
Preliminary work has already
begun, Himes said. By year’s end, Calistoga residents should see such steps as
a town hall meeting.
The grand jury also looked at
how the county distributes national Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement money.
The county awards $1 million annually to nonprofit groups to meet community
health needs.
Applicants must follow 20 pages
of instructions and do such things as submit pre-applications and full
applications to be rated by a board of county employees. Grant awardees must
complete three reports annually.
“The nonprofits reported that
they often stretch beyond their capacity in meeting the very real needs of the
people they serve,” the grand jury report said. “They further reported that
most of their resources go to providing direct services, not to top-heavy
administrative positions.”
Given this, nonprofits would
like a less-burdensome grant process that still meets the county’s
accountability concerns, the report said. It suggested someone with “fresh
eyes” or a consultant explore fashioning streamlined procedures.
Himes isn’t ready to comment on
what changes, if any, the county might make to the grant process. He said he
wants the Board of Supervisors to weigh in as the county builds its response to
the grand jury report.
The grand jury concluded its
report by commending Himes for using the integrated services philosophy. That
involves delivering various health and social services in a seamless way to
those in need, as opposed to having each service in its own silo.
“I do appreciate that,” Himes
said. “It was very nice of them to include that.”
May
2, 2015
Napa
Valley Register
By Barry Eberling
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