Bay Area

S.F. Board of Supervisors OKs Mayor Breed’s Streamlining Legislation to Speed Up New Residential Treatment, Care Beds

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors unanimously approved legislation sponsored by Mayor London N. Breed to make it easier to procure public health beds and provide needed flexibility in obtaining much-needed mental health and/or substance use disorders beds.

Published

2 months ago

February 24, 2024

Oakland Post

Approved legislation will reduce red tape and help City meet residents’ behavioral health needs as San Francisco continues to add beds for those struggling with mental health and substance use disorder. iStock image by maximbg.

By S.F. Mayor’s Office

Approved on Tuesday, the legislation was put forward in partnership with the San Francisco Department of Public Health (SFDPH) and co-sponsored by Supervisors Rafael Mandelman and Hillary Ronen.

Since 2020, San Francisco has been expanding the supply of residential treatment and care beds to meet the need of people with a variety of behavioral health conditions. Under Breed’s expansion plan, the City has added 355 beds, so there is now a total of approximately 2,550 behavioral health treatment and care beds. The City has additional plans to expand this further this year.

These beds come at a critical time for San Francisco as it becomes the first county in California to implement the new state conservatorship laws under Senate Bill 43, which became effective Jan. 1.

While other counties are delaying implementation, Mayor Breed issued an executive directive to begin the process of submitting people for conservatorship under these new laws at the beginning of the year. Along with CARE Court, which became effective last fall, San Francisco has more tools available to help get people into the care they need.

“This streamlining law is exactly the kind of tool we need to deliver services faster for those in need, and I appreciate the Board of Supervisors for quickly approving it so we can get more people help,” Breed said. “When people in our city see people struggling on our street, they want us to move faster and more aggressively to get people into care. Too often we cling to long, bureaucratic processes that stand in the way of solutions, and I’m grateful for support for this common-sense legislation that will expedite our ability to acquire beds and save lives.”

At a time when clients in need of residential care are most vulnerable, and San Francisco is vying for out-of-county beds along with other counties and health systems, the City and County continues to find ways to be more competitive.

The approved ordinance waives the lengthy RFP process required for SFDPH to contract beds for public health use in third-party facilities both in and outside of San Francisco, while still adhering to key transparency and accountability measures.

“With the recent expansion of our conservatorship laws through SB 43, it is critical that we have the treatment placements necessary to meet increased demand,” said Mandelman.

“We are experiencing a severe behavioral health crisis on the streets of our city and this legislation will allow our health professionals to better serve individuals with serious mental illness and substance use disorder immediately,” said Ronen.

“Accelerating the process to obtain these critical treatment beds will better serve our most vulnerable clients,” said Director of Health Dr. Grant Colfax. “Thank you to Mayor Breed and our sponsoring Board of Supervisors for championing this legislation to address our residents’ behavioral health needs and streamline contracting.”

By waiving the lengthy RFP process SFDPH is currently required to undergo when contracting beds for public health use from third-party facilities, the City will be able to:

Reduce wait times for beds to quickly meet the city’s high demand
Provide greater diversity of potential providers who may not otherwise respond to RFPs due to bureaucratic hurdles
Provide flexibility for individual clients with specific placement needs

The approved ordinance is limited in scope and only waives the RFP process for public health beds, including residential care and treatment and isolation and quarantine beds.

“We want to ensure treatment options are available and provide appropriate care as quickly as possible, especially for people with serious mental health or substance use disorders,” said Dr. Hillary Kunins, Director of Behavioral Health Services and Mental Health SF at SFDPH. “Our continued goal is to get more people the treatment they may need and make treatment more accessible, putting them on a path to recovery and wellness.

The approved ordinance waives the RFP process for five years. However, SFDPH will still adhere to City contracting checks and balances, as well as its own internal measures, to ensure that all providers comply with Federal, State and local contract monitoring recruitments.

For more information about San Francisco’s work to expand treatment beds and services, please visit this page or https://londonbreed.medium.com/expanding-treatment-in-san-francisco-e0acfcc980bc

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Oakland Post: Week of April 24 – 30, 2024

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of April 24 – 30, 2024

Published

19 hours ago

April 26, 2024

Oakland Post

To enlarge your view of this issue, use the slider, magnifying glass icon or full page icon in the lower right corner of the browser window.

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Alameda County

DA Pamela Price Stands by Mom Who Lost Son to Gun Violence in Oakland

Last week, The Post published a photo showing Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price with Carol Jones, whose son, Patrick DeMarco Scott, was gunned down by an unknown assailant in 2018.

Published

4 days ago

April 22, 2024

Oakland Post

District Attorney Pamela Price with Carol Jones

Publisher’s note: Last week, The Post published a photo showing Alameda County District Attorney Pamela Price with Carol Jones, whose son, Patrick DeMarco Scott, was gunned down by an unknown assailant in 2018. The photo was too small for readers to see where the women were and what they were doing. Here we show Price and Jones as they complete a walk in memory of Scott. For more information and to contribute, please contact Carol Jones at 510-978-5517 at morefoundation.help@gmail.com. Courtesy photo.

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Bay Area

State Controller Malia Cohen Keynote Speaker at S.F. Wealth Conference

California State Controller Malia Cohen delivered the keynote speech to over 50 business women at the Black Wealth Brunch held on March 28 at the War Memorial and Performing Arts Center at 301 Van Ness Ave. in San Francisco. The Enterprising Women Networking SF Chapter of the American Business Women’s Association (ABWA) hosted the Green Room event to launch its platform designed to close the racial wealth gap in Black and Brown communities.

Published

6 days ago

April 20, 2024

Oakland Post

American Business Women’s Association Vice President Velma Landers, left, with California State Controller Malia Cohen (center), and ABWA President LaRonda Smith at the Enterprising Women Networking SF Chapter of the ABWA at the Black Wealth Brunch.

By Carla Thomas

The Enterprising Women Networking SF Chapter of the American Business Women’s Association (ABWA) hosted the Green Room event to launch its platform designed to close the racial wealth gap in Black and Brown communities.

“Our goal is to educate Black and Brown families in the masses about financial wellness, wealth building, and how to protect and preserve wealth,” said ABWA San Francisco Chapter President LaRonda Smith.

ABWA’s mission is to bring together businesswomen of diverse occupations and provide opportunities for them to help themselves and others grow personally and professionally through leadership, education, networking support, and national recognition.

“This day is about recognizing influential women, hearing from an accomplished woman as our keynote speaker and allowing women to come together as powerful people,” said ABWA SF Chapter Vice President Velma Landers.

More than 60 attendees dined on the culinary delights of Chef Sharon Lee of The Spot catering, which included a full soul food brunch of skewered shrimp, chicken, blackened salmon, and mac and cheese.

Cohen discussed the many economic disparities women and people of color face. From pay equity to financial literacy, Cohen shared not only statistics, but was excited about a new solution in motion which entailed partnering with Californians for Financial Education.

“I want everyone to reach their full potential,” she said. “Just a few weeks ago in Sacramento, I partnered with an organization, Californians for Financial Education.

“We gathered 990 signatures and submitted it to the [California] Secretary of State to get an initiative on the ballot that guarantees personal finance courses for every public school kid in the state of California.

“Every California student deserves an equal opportunity to learn about filing taxes, interest rates, budgets, and understanding the impact of credit scores. The way we begin to do that is to teach it,” Cohen said.

By equipping students with information, Cohen hopes to close the financial wealth gap, and give everyone an opportunity to reach their full financial potential. “They have to first be equipped with the information and education is the key. Then all we need are opportunities to step into spaces and places of power.”

Cohen went on to share that in her own upbringing, she was not guided on financial principles that could jump start her finances. “Communities of color don’t have the same information and I don’t know about you, but I did not grow up listening to my parents discussing their assets, their investments, and diversifying their portfolio. This is the kind of nomenclature and language we are trying to introduce to our future generations so we can pivot from a life of poverty so we can pivot away and never return to poverty.”

Cohen urged audience members to pass the initiative on the November 2024 ballot.

“When we come together as women, uplift women, and support women, we all win. By networking and learning together, we can continue to build generational wealth,” said Landers. “Passing a powerful initiative will ensure the next generation of California students will be empowered to make more informed financial decisions, decisions that will last them a lifetime.”