For immediate release
January 30, 2017
NEW MENTAL HEALTH INNOVATION PROJECT APPROVED FOR PLACER COUNTY: NEARLY $4 MILLION TO HELP CHRONICALLY HOMELESS WHO ARE MENTALLY ILL
Sacramento—A newly approved Innovative project will provide both a path to recovery and housing for individuals who are chronically homeless and living with mental illness in Placer County.
The Mental Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission (MHSOAC) has approved $3,900,000 for the County to provide care coordination and linkage to permanent housing for individuals with mental illness who are also chronically homeless. The County plans to hire an outreach and engagement team that will work collaboratively with agencies already in place to identify and provide treatment for those needing services. This will be done through the use of available technology to provide real-time data exchange among multiple agencies to identify opportunities for collaborative care. The County will also use an internally developed concept, what it calls a SMART model—Systems Management, Advocacy and Resource Team model—which has demonstrated the ability to bring forth system-level improvements for the County’s child welfare and juvenile justice population. Sutter Health has also provided a $1 million community benefit to help establish the permanent housing. Placer County believes the team will serve at least 40 individuals every year.
The MHSOAC-approved funds for this five-year project come from the Innovation component of Proposition 63, the Mental Health Services Act. Prop 63 was approved by California voters in 2004 to strengthen mental health services in the state; innovation funds are used for unique, time-limited approaches to the mental health system to encourage “out-of-the-box” thinking in service delivery.