Kimberly Johnson is CEO of the non-profit Arch Collaborative, a group that provides support and services to people dealing with trauma and crises. The group is spearheading the project.
Johnson said rural areas often lack resources, making it difficult to implement new state laws meant to improve behavioral health services.
She referenced major rule changes from the last six years that added to the work load of behavioral health professionals. One was the rollout of mental health and substance use disorder programs required by laws such as SB 43, which allows for people with severe substance use disorders to be taken in for an involuntary hold and treatment.
These laws mandated increases in a variety of behavioral health services.
“Overnight, the need for additional bed availability and emergency room capacity and crisis stabilization units and all kinds of things [occured] in order to be able to adequately meet the requirements of SB 43,” Johnson said.
In rural areas with fewer resources to help tackle these changes, Johnson said, those communities often collaborate to work through problems, and this program will make it easier.
“This grant will build the table that will allow the counties to come and sit around,” Johnson said.
Pat Blacklock is the CEO of Rural County Representatives of California, which advocates for rural issues. They partnered with Arch Collaborative to start the project.
Blacklock said North State behavioral health professionals are swamped with work. He hopes this project will remove some of the administrative burden they often tackle on their own.
“The gap that we would be filling is to help them not only meet these ever increasing state requirements, but figure out the most efficient way to do that,” Blacklock said.
The project gives these counties time and space to talk about sticking points in their work. Johnson said that includes day to day things like billing issues and bigger projects like finding ways of implementing new legislation in their counties.
As the North State begins identifying places they need help, Johnson said, a small group of people will take those issues, research them and come into the next meeting with possible solutions.
The program is slated to end in 2028, but Johnson’s goal is to help find more efficient communication methods for these counties long into the future.
