Marin County supervisors
applauded the civil grand jury Tuesday, thanking the panel for a report on
mental health program improvements.
“We’re largely in agreement
with the grand jury’s report,” noted county Administrator Matthew Hymel.
“This was a very useful
report,” said Supervisor Steve Kinsey, noting jurors made several
recommendations boosting programs underway, providing “momentum” to get them
done.
“Our challenge is ...the lack
of housing,” said Supervisor Katie Rice, noting a jury recommendation that more
residential housing programs be added to the spectrum of services for those
with mental health issues.
Supervisor Damon Connolly,
saying he and Rice and other top officials took a tour of downtown San Rafael
the other day, said many of the homeless who congregate downtown suffer from
mental health issues. “How we deploy on (mental health) programs and resources
will be a central part of how we address homelessness,” he said.
The board’s praise for the
jury’s work came as the foreman of last fiscal year’s panel, former San Rafael
city councilman Jack Nixon, watched from the audience.
An administration report
responding to jury recommendations said the budget process will be revised to
track individual program costs and benefits using quantifiable data, and that
the county intends to find a replacement locale for the Helen Vine Detox Center
“within a time frame that avoids a disruption of services” when the program’s
lease expires next year.
A jury recommendation that
the county provide housing is in the works, with this year’s budget providing
$10 million more for mental health programs, including $2 million for a
residential placement program that now includes 400 clients, according to the
administration.
There were 3,700 mental
health patients in Marin in fiscal year 2012-13, according to Mental Health and
Substance Use Services, a division of Marin County’s Department of Health and
Human Services that oversees mental health programs. Patients suffered from
conditions such as severe schizophrenia, bipolar disorder and major depression.
The
county’s recommended budget last fiscal year included $47.1 million to provide
a safety net of mental health and substance use services.
August 4, 2015
Marin
Independent Journal
By
Nels Johnson
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