To: Board of Supervisors
From: Dr. Ori Tzvieli, Interim Health Services Director
Report Title: Gift Cards for Consumer Participation of Mental Health Services Act - Prop 63
☒Recommendation of the County Administrator ☐ Recommendation of Board Committee
RECOMMENDATIONS:
APPROVE and AUTHORIZE the Purchasing Agent, or designee, to purchase on behalf of the Interim Health Services Director, 876 Albertsons gift cards, each with a $30 value with a five percent discount totaling $24,966 to be used as incentives for consumer participation in Mental Health Services Act-Prop 63 (MHSA) planning processes.
FISCAL IMPACT:
The $24,966 expenditure will be funded by MHSA-Prop 63 funding. There is no impact to the County General Fund.
BACKGROUND:
Proposition 63, the Mental Health Services Act, was passed by voters on November 2, 2004. This proposition imposes an additional 1% tax on taxable personal income above $1 million to provide dedicated funding for expansion of mental health services and programs. Gift Cards are provided to mental health consumers and family members as an incentive for ongoing and meaningful participation and involvement as full partners in the MHSA planning processes, from the inception of the planning through implementation and evaluation of identified activities.
State Department of Mental Health Letter Number 05-01 requires the participation of mental health consumers and family members in this process. Additionally, counties must continue to be engaged in ongoing community planning processes for MHSA annual plan updates and for any new MHSA plan. As such, to obtain broader stakeholder input, gift cards allow the county to provide a way to reward those mental health consumers and their family members who so willingly volunteer many hours to participate in the myriad of MHSA planning processes.
Gift cards help offset potential costs and financial burden associated with meeting participation including, but not limited to, transportation and meals. The gift cards will be administered in accordance with the requirements outlined in Administrative Bulletin #615.
CONSEQUENCE OF NEGATIVE ACTION:
If there are no incentives available, consumer and family member participation and involvement may decrease during the Community Program Planning Process, which is a required component for the Mental Health Services Act (MHSA) Three-Year Program and Expenditure Plan.