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Mental Health Board
PUBLIC HEARING
on San Francisco’s Draft Plan for
PROPOSITION 63
THE MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES ACT
The Mental Health Board will be holding two hearings on the Draft Plan for how San Francisco will use its Proposition 63 funding:
Saturday, October 22, 2005, from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.
Joseph Lee Recreation Center
1395 Mendell @ Oakdale, 1/2 block from 3rd Street
Monday, October 24, 2005, from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m.
Board of Supervisors Chambers
City Hall, 2nd Floor
1 Dr. Carleton Goodlett Place
Civic Center
The Draft Plan is over 200 pages long, so we urge you to review a copy as soon as possible so you will have time to read through it and make recommendations.
There is also an Executive Summary which includes the key funding strategies for Proposition 63 funds.
You can download a copy of the Draft Plan and Executive Summary from: www.sfdph.org/Prop63 .
You can also review copies of the Draft Plan and the Executive Summary at the following four places:
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Government Information Center |
Clerk, Board of Supervisors |
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Mental Health Board office |
Mental Health Association |
If you need to have a copy of the Draft Plan sent to you please let the Mental Health Board know at mhb@igc.org or 415-255-3474 and we’ll send one right out.
It is expected that there will be a very large turnout for each of the hearings, which means that each person will probably only have 2-3 minutes to speak.
Therefore, we welcome written statements ahead of time. You do not have to wait until the hearing date to submit written responses to the Draft Plan. Please send your statement as soon as you have it completed to the Mental Health Board.
We prefer that statements be e-mailed if possible to: Helynna.Brooke@sfdph.org.
If you don’t have internet access, please mail your statement to: Mental Health Board, 1380 Howard Street, Suite 510, San Francisco, CA 94103, or fax it to 415-255-3760.
You can also make comments through the Prop 63 website at: www.sfdph.org/Prop63.
We’d like to ask you to make your recommendations as specific as possible. Let us know exactly how you want the money to be spent and why. Please feel free to write out the exact wording you’d like to see added into the Plan or changed in the Plan.
The Mental Health Board will be prepare a report on the written and spoken testimony about the Plan and will send this report to the Department of Public Health.
If you have questions about the Mental Health Board hearings, please feel free to call the Mental Health Board office at 415-255-3474.
DISABILITY ACCESS
1. American Sign Language interpreters and/or a sound enhancement system will be available on request. Please contact Ladonnis Elston at (415) 255-3444 (voice) or (415) 255-3449 (TTD). Five days notice before the meeting will help to ensure the presence of an ASL interpreter or sound enhancement system. Large print copies of the agenda will be made available upon request; please call (415) 255-3474.
2. For the October 22nd meeting, the Joseph Lee Recreation Center is wheelchair accessible, and the MUNI bus #15 Third Street is wheelchair accessible. For the October 24th meeting, City Hall is wheelchair accessible, and the #47 Van Ness bus is wheelchair acessible. The nearest MUNI Metro station is the Van Ness Station. For more information or updates about the current status of MUNI accessible services, call (415) 923-6142. For information about Paratransit Services call (415) 351-7000.
3. Both meeting sites are wheelchair accessible.
4. In order to assist the City’s efforts to accommodate persons with severe allergies, environmental illnesses, multiple chemical sensitivity or related disabilities, attendees at public meetings are reminded that other attendees may be sensitive to various chemical based products. Please help the City accommodate these individuals.
POLICY ON CELL PHONE, PAGERS, AND ELECTRONIC DEVICES
The ringing of and use of cell phones, pagers, and similar sound-producing electronic devices are prohibited at this meeting. Please be advised that the Chair may order the removal from the meeting room of any person(s) responsible for the ringing or use of a cell phone, pager, or other similar sound-producing electronic devices.
KNOW YOUR RIGHTS UNDER THE SUNSHINE ORDINANCE
Government’s duty is to serve the public, reaching its decisions in full view of the public. Commissions, boards, councils and other agencies of the City and County exist to conduct the people’s business. This ordinance assures that deliberations are conducted before the people and that City operations are open to the people’s review. For more information on your rights under the Sunshine Ordinance (Chapter 67 of the San Francisco Administrative Code) or to report a violation of the ordinance, contact:
Frank Darby, Sunshine Administrator
Sunshine Ordinance Task Force
City Hall, Room 244
1 Dr. Carlton B. Goodlett Place
San Francisco, CA 94102-4689
Telephone: (415)554-7724
Fax: 4(15) 554-5163
E-mail: sotf@sfgov.org
Citizens interested in obtaining a free copy of the Sunshine Ordinance can request one from Ms. Hall, or by printing Chapter 67 of the San Francisco Administrative Code from the internet at: www.sfgov.org/sunshine.htm
To view Mental Health Board agendas and minutes, you may visit the MHB web page at: www.sfgov.org/mental_health. You may also go to the Government Information Center at the Main Library at Larkin and Grove in the Civic Center. You may also get copies of these documents through the MHB office at 255-3474.
Lobbyist Registration and Reporting Requirements
Individuals and entities that influence or attempt to influence local legislative or administrative action may be required by the San Francisco Lobbyist Ordinance [SF Campaign & Governmental Conduct Code 2.100] to register and report lobbying activity. For more information about the Lobbyist Ordinance, please contact the San Francisco Ethics Commission at 30 Van Ness Avenue, Suite 3900, San Francisco, CA 94102; telephone (415) 581-2300; fax (415) 581-2317; web site www.sfgov.org/ethics.
PRIOR INFORMATION ABOUT THE MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES ACT
PROPOSITION 63—THE MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES ACT
On November 2, 2004, the voters of California passed Proposition 63, the Mental Health Services Act.
This initiative will bring significant new funding for mental health services to all the counties in California.
In San Francisco, the planning process is underway. A 40-member Behavioral Health Innovations Task Force has been selected which will lead the planning process under the direction of Barbara Garcia, Deputy Director of the Department of Public Health.
All of the planning meetings, including the committee meetings, are open to the public.
You can find out more about the planning process in San Francisco by going to:
http://www.sfdph.org/Prop63/default.htm
If you want information about the planning and implementation of Proposition 63 on the statewide level you can go to:
http://www.dmh.cahwnet.gov/MHSA/default.asp
Additional information about Proposition 63 can be found at:
http://www.yeson63.org
The San Francisco Mental Health Board encourages all interested members of the public to make sure your voice is heard in the planning process for Proposition 63. Please know that the initiative specifically highlights the importance of stakeholders having input into the planning, as follows:
5848. (a) Each plan and update shall be developed with local stakeholders including adults and seniors with severe mental illness, families of children, adults and seniors with severe mental illness, providers of services, law enforcement agencies, education, social services agencies and other important interests. A draft plan and update shall be prepared and circulated for review and comment for at least 30 days to representatives of stakeholder interests and any interested party who has requested a copy of such plans.
Once San Francisco has put together a draft plan for the implementation of Proposition 63, the Mental Health Board will hold a hearing. This is another crucial opportunity for stakeholders and members of the public to comment on the plan. The Mental Health Board will write a report on the recommendations made at the hearing and send that report to the State Department of Mental Health which is the state agency which will be directing the process for approving or disapproving the draft plan. Here's what Proposition 63 states:
5848 (b) The mental health board established pursuant to Section 5604 shall conduct a public hearing on the draft plan and annual updates at the close of the 30-day comment period required by subsection (a). Each adopted plan and update shall include any substantive written recommendations for revisions. The adopted plan or update shall summarize and analyze the recommended revisions. The mental health board shall review the adopted plan or update and make recommendations to the county mental health department for revisions.
The Mental Health Board of San Francisco is committed to ensuring that the implementation of Proposition 63 stays true to the spirit of Proposition 63.
On March 2, 2005, the Mental Health Association held a special kick-off event for Proposition 63, with the Mental Health Board and the Department of Public Health as co-sponsors. This event was called “The Spirit of the Mental Health Services Act (Proposition 63).”
Featured speakers included:
Darrell Steinberg and Rusty Selix, co-authors of Proposition 63
Sally Zinman, Executive Director, California Network of Mental Health Clients
Stephen Mayberg, Ph.D., Director, State Department of Mental Health
Barbara Garcia, Deputy Director, San Francisco Department of Public Health
This entire 90-minute program is now being broadcast frequently on SFGTV, San Francisco Government TV, Channel 26. You can check their program schedule at www.sfgov.org/site/sfgtv_index.asp?id=11518.
TRANSFORMING OUR MENTAL HEALTH SYSTEM
You are invited to participate.
Letter from the Chair of the Board
June 30, 2005
Dear Friends,
This year is unlike any other year in the history of mental health services. Every year we struggle with budget deficits and do everything we can to prevent cuts to services.
But what’s different about 2005 is that we are also redesigning the entire mental health system.
Why is this happening?
On Tuesday, November 2, 2004, the voters of California passed the Mental Health Services Act (MHSA), also known as Proposition 63. This will bring a major infusion of new money to California counties so they can transform their mental health systems.
In San Francisco, we have a Behavioral Health Innovations Task Force which is taking the lead on making a three-year plan for the new funding. It has 41 members, which is a large number of people to have on a task force, but this allows us to have a wide range of people representing a wide range of interests and expertise.
In addition to the Task Force, there are nine committees working on specific proposals for new programs.
How is the Mental Health Board (MHB) participating in the planning for MHSA funding?
1. We are watching over the planning to make sure San Francisco stays true to the intent of Proposition 63.
This is the top priority goal the MHB has set for itself for 2005. We want to make sure that the plan we come up with in San Francisco matches what the initiative says and what the voters are expecting. This means, for example:
That the money is used to transform our system, not just expand it.
That wellness and recovery is the core model for treatment.
That prevention is a key focus.
That there is support for self-help programs.
That there are truly innovative programs.
That services are accessible, evidence-based, and effective.
We want to make sure that San Francisco does everything it possibly can do in order to have the State accept our plan promptly. Delays in approval mean that the funding is held up and that could mean a significant loss for San Francisco.
2. We are watching over the base budget.
Proposition 63 funding is new money for new services. It’s not to be used to replace the funds in the existing mental health budget.
So we find ourselves in a truly strange time, when we are planning for new money, but some of the base services have been cut back. For example, the single standard of care, which provides services for people who are uninsured or under-insured, has been cut back significantly. We want to see full funding again for the single standard of care.
3. We are participating on the Behavioral Health Innovations Task Force.
Three members of the Mental Health Board—Rebecca Turner, Michael Medema, and Idell Wilson—are on the 41-member Task Force that is in charge of designing the new services.
Our Board members are also in charge of running the public comment time at each of Task Force meetings. Public comment has been increased from half an hour per meeting to two hours per meeting.
4. We will be holding the key hearing on the final draft.
Once the final draft plan for new services is released, there will be a 30-day period for the public to consider the plan. Following that, the Mental Health Board, as mandated under the Mental Health Services Act, will hold a public hearing on the plan. The Board will then write a report on the testimony that it has heard and will make recommendations regarding changes in the plan.
This hearing is a way to make sure that public comment and the input of a wide range of stakeholders has been taken seriously in the designing of the plan for the new services.
5. We are supporting the efforts of Mayor Newsom and our state legislative delegation to correct San Francisco’s allocation.
We have been very distressed to learn that of all the counties in the state, San Francisco received the lowest per capita allocation of MHSA funds. Many things were not taken into account during the allocation process, such as our significant homeless poplation, and the number of people who come here from other counties and ask for services.
We are supporting the efforts of our City leaders to do whatever can be done to try to rectify this situation.
6. We co-sponsored the MHSA Kick-Off event, to alert all San Franciscans to the importance of this Act.
On March 2, 2005, the Mental Health Association of San Francisco sponsored a very successful event to launch the planning for the MHSA funding. The Mental Health Board was a co-sponsor along with the Department of Public Health.
The event featured:
Darryl Steinberg, former Assmblyman, and co-author of the MHSA
Rusty Selix, co-author of the MHSA
Stephen Mayberg, Ph.D., Director of the State Department of Mental Health
Sally Zinman, Executive Director of the California Network of Mental Health Clients
The Mental Health Board taped the entire program and distributed DVDs and videotapes to all the members of the Behavioral Health Innovations Task Force. We provided a DVD to SFGTV, Channel 26. It’s being played on that channel several times each week so San Francisco residents can find out about the Act and can particiapte in the planning.
We also distributed DVDs to the California Mental Health Association and to the state chapter of the National Alliance for the Mentally-Ill, so they could send copies out to their chapters all across California.
7. We encourage members of the public and stakeholders to participate in the planning for new services.
The public is invited to attend any or all of the planning meetings. Your input is critical. To date we’ve gotten many excellent ideas from people who speak during public comment time. You are also welcome to mail in ideas, recommendations, and proposals.
For information about the meetings you can go to:
Or you can call the Mental Health Association at 421-2926 and ask to be put on the MHSA mailing list. The MHA is taking the lead on outreach tot he community.
To send in information, you can mail it to:
Carolyn Lieber
Department of Public Health
1380 Howard Street, 2nd floor
San Francisco, CA 94103
We urge you to participate now and over the next few months. This is the time when you can help make a difference like never before. We want this want to see the MHSA succeed. We want this initiative to continue for decades to come. We want to transform the mental health system so it can better transform the lives of people who suffer from mental illness, giving them hope and the chance to live lives of opportunity, love, and fulfillment.
Sincerely,
Rebecca Turner, Ph.D.
Chair of the Mental Health Board
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