Crisis residential facility closes

Public commenters have previously asked the county to step in and fill in financial gaps to prevent the facility’s closure, but Africa said the matter was more complicated and the county did in fact attempt to do what it could to not lose the service. 

Caminar, the nonprofit that operates Redwood House, announced this fall it would close three of its substance abuse and mental health programs over concerns of payment reimbursement changes placing the nonprofit in a precarious financial position. 

Though the county attempted to work with Caminar to at least delay the closure, its CEO Mark Cloutier has said the operating costs would still be too much, and did not feel they would be able to achieve the target occupancy necessary. 

The rollout of CalAIM as the state’s Medicaid system has affected the reimbursement rates for behavioral health care, Africa said, and “resulting rates were disappointing for providers and counties, not just for San Mateo.” 

As of the end of November, all clients have been transitioned out to appropriate levels of care, such as social rehabs or substance use disorder programs. 

“Since then, our focus has been to ensure our well-being of the patients that are currently being serviced,” Africa said. “We have worked with Caminar closely on transition plans for all clients that will be impacted by this closure. 

Africa said Redwood House is officially no longer taking in clients and BHRS is seeking another provider to offer the same level of service next year. 

Concerns from employees and community members mainly centered around the fact that Redwood House was the only longer term transitional housing facility in the county. Serenity House is also a crisis residential space, but is more of a respite and houses individuals for only 30 days, as opposed to the 90 days at Redwood House. 

Supervisor David Canepa raised concerns over the consequences of the facility closing. 

“One of the things I’m concerned about potentially is how do we fund this moving forward and how do we find partners that are able to deliver services,” Canepa said. “What we’re trying to accomplish is really specialized work, it requires certain skill sets and proper funding mechanisms.”

Rethinking how to increase the productivity and consolidate resources of available services can help keep them available for residents, County Executive Officer Mike Callagy said.

“We have to work with all of our partners and to the extent that they can share resources so they don’t duplicate efforts, especially in administrative functions, in order to cut costs,” Callagy said. 

Though the rate change has proven to be difficult for care providers, the passage of Proposition 36 will likely spike the demand for rehabilitation facilities, Supervisor Ray Mueller noted, which will ultimately necessitate increased funding. 

The ballot measure would elevate nonviolent drug possession charges to felonies by the third offense, which could be dismissed with successful completion of treatment. The law currently allows judges to issue similar sentences — forgoing conviction or jail time if treatment is completed — though the charges remain as misdemeanors, not felonies. 

Making sure the state provides the necessary funding to sustain the implementation of Proposition 36 will also help maintain services that once were offered by Redwood House, supervisors said.

“Advocacy at the state level is going to be necessary,” Supervisor Noelia Corzo said. 

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