About $1 billion will again go toward the mental health services provided by the OC Health Care Agency over the next three years thanks to a 1% tax on personal income over $1 million that was created several years ago by California voters.
The 2004 Mental Health Services Act earmarked the funding that in the years since has helped the county extend its reach from the 40,000 people Medi-Cal would cover in a year to more than 200,000 people a year by allowing the OC agency to provide services not billable to the state health care sytem and expand mental health programs aimed at its underserved population.
“(MHSA) allows us to do all the things we would really want to do in order to serve a person really well and take care of their mental illness,” Veronica Kelley, chief of the county’s Mental Health and Recovery Services, said. “It allows us to build out our system of care more thoroughly.”
State regulations give large counties three years to spend their allocated MHSA funds. After that, any unused money reverts to the state for redistribution. The funding the county is getting through this new round is about the same as prior years and the allocation is based on what’s been spent in previously.
In a recently released draft of its spending plan, the OC Health Care Agency’s Mental Health and Recovery Services laid out its breakdown allocating the $1 billion the county will receive through mid-2026 toward its direct services, early prevention resources and programs geared toward individuals living with serious mental illness, including a housing allowance. Other funding will go toward mental health innovations, workforce training and technological advancements.
Michelle Smith, the agency’s mental health services act coordinator, said the budget plan is built with a lot of input from community members.
“We have ongoing stakeholder and community feedback sessions all year round, so we take a look at what our stakeholders are telling us…
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