County Administrator Ken Witt told the Public Protection and Justice Committee that the Health and Human Services department plans to shift certain behavioral-health services toward an integrated clinic model and to rely more on community partners, and he said staff do not expect those changes to have a negative public-safety impact.

Why it matters: The proposed change alters how the county bills and delivers substance-use and co-occurring services; if services move away from county delivery or if access changes, supervisors said they want to monitor for unintended impacts on public safety and service gaps.

Witt summarized a memo from HHS Director Bob Rort that identified two points: community partners can provide some services currently delivered by the county, and an integrated clinic model — where one counselor addresses co-occurring issues — has a higher billing rate and can be more cost‑effective than funding two separate counselors. Witt said the department believes the change is a business-model shift rather than a reduction in service quality and does not anticipate a negative public-safety outcome.

Witt and committee members discussed one data point in the memo: a reported 37% decline in substance-use‑specific county cases. Committee members cautioned that the drop does not necessarily mean fewer people need treatment; it may reflect choices by people to use other providers or to avoid county programs. Supervisor Lee and others urged collection of clearer statistics and suggested a dashboard or consolidated report combining data from courts, law enforcement, mental-health providers and other partners so the county could track trends such as competency evaluations and service referrals.

No formal action was taken; supervisors said they would monitor program metrics and could request program adjustments if the county sees service gaps affecting public safety.

Ending: Staff will continue to track usage and access metrics for behavioral-health services and report back if monitoring identifies a reduction in services or emergent public-safety concerns.