San Diego County is moving forward with big changes regarding how they approach mental and behavioral health, including addressing the shortage of workers to fill the programs the county has created.

Supervisor Nathan Fletcher’s latest initiative involves opening the region’s first Behavioral Health Workforce Center of Excellence in partnership with Interfaith Communities and Price Philanthropies, a proposal that received unanimous support during the San Diego County Board of Supervisors Dec. 13 meeting.

“Creating centers of excellence will help us address the shortage of behavioral health workers in San Diego County,” Supervisor Fletcher said during the meeting.

According to a press release, the action “will allow the County to leverage $2.5 million from the Price Philanthropies Foundation and $1 million of the County of San Diego Mental Health Services Act.” This sum of money will be the funds and force behind the establishment of the center.

With more interventions and treatment centers on the horizon, Supervisor Fletcher was quick to note the need for behavioral and mental health workers. In a report he requested from the San Diego Workforce Partnership, the report found that the region needs an additional 8,100 behavioral health workers to meet the current need, and by 2027, it is estimated a total of 18,500 will be needed.

“It is clear there are not enough workers as we scale-up services. We are really focused on growing the pipeline of workers, and these centers of excellence will be instrumental at preparing the next generation of behavioral health workers.” Supervisor Fletcher said in an interview.

According to his office, the Interfaith Behavioral Health Workforce Center of Excellence will be a five-year pilot program that provides training, education, and licensure to Interfaith’s existing and future workforce that enables them to advance in their careers and fill hard-to-recruit behavioral health positions. There is also an effort to create a sustainable funding model to continue the pilot program beyond the grant term.

In addition to the center, the County continue to implrement their Mobile Crisis Response Teams, a reimagination of how law enforcement handles 911 calls related to mental health after a successful pilot program. Another implementation is the Crisis Stabilization Units, one of which is already located in Vista. These units will serve as an out-of-hospital setting for individuals to be treated.

In weeks following the unanimous vote, Supervisor Fletcher shared the driving forces behind pushing for such adjustments to how the country handles the mental and behavioral health crisis.

“I was concerned about mental health and addiction treatment before I became a Supervisor, and I knew when I got elected, I wanted to build a better way for the County and our partners to deliver these services.” Supervisor Fletcher said. “The need for a reimagining of our behavioral health system was evident to me as I saw more people on our streets struggling with their mental health, and addiction challenges.”

For Supervisor Fletcher, another large factor was witnessing the impact on families when an individual experiences a mental or behavioral crisis and cannot receive the proper care to address and manage symptoms.

“I talked with families who said they needed a more coordinated system of care. Too many times when someone had an episode, they ended up in an emergency room or jail, and then they were right back out on the street without the proper care coordinator to help prevent them from having another episode.” Supervisor Fletcher said. “I knew things needed to change, and so early in my first year I introduced a policy to use an old county property that was going to be luxury condos and make it a hub for behavioral health services.”

When determining where funds are allocated, Supervisor Fletcher explained that since he took office, there has been a 70% increase in the budget for behavioral health services.

This increase is not only a reflection of the Counties clear efforts to address issues amongst the community, but it has allowed Supervisor Fletcher to create tangible change.

“This increase in financial support for addiction treatment and mental health is a statement of our values as a County; today we are putting more emphasis on these services because there is a significant need.” Supervisor Fletcher said. “This is the reason we are funding Mobile Crisis Response Teams, building Crisis Stabilization units all over the region, and investing in upstream services that hopefully prevent people from experiencing a crisis.”

Supervisor Fletcher is confident that focusing on solutions for those who need care will better many corners of the San Diego community. He explained the response he has seen from the public thus far.

“We are receiving tremendously positive feedback for the changes we are making to the behavioral health system; people are starting to see how the changes we made over the last four years are making an impact,” Supervisor Fletcher said.