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Approve the appointment of Lesley Guth to the Behavioral Health Advisory Board (BHAB) for a three-year term to expire December 31, 2027
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Published Notice Required? Yes ____ No _X _
Public Hearing Required? Yes ____ No _X _
DEPARTMENTAL RECOMMENDATION:
The Department of Health and Social Services (H&SS) requests that the Board of Supervisors approve the appointment of Lesley Guth to the Behavioral Health Advisory Board (BHAB) for a three-year term to expire December 31, 2027
SUMMARY:
The Solano County Behavioral Health Advisory Board (BHAB) was established under the Bronzan-McCorquodale Act (Part 2 of Division 4.7 of the California Welfare and Institutions Code § 5600 et seq.) and is mandated as part of the County’s contract with the State to provide specialty behavioral health services. The BHAB is comprised of at least nine but not more than 11 members appointed by the Solano County Board of Supervisors, with a required additional member of the Board of Supervisors. The County BHAB membership reflects the county’s demographic and ethnic diversity as specified in WIC section 5604.5(b).
Lesley Guth is a long-time Solano County resident and a Marriage and Family Therapist with a broad range of experience in mental health. She currently provides therapy to adolescents, families, individuals, and couples through her private practice in Benicia. She previously provided mental health services to high-risk families in community settings including schools, nonprofit clinics, and court programs. She also worked for five years with severely mentally ill adults at the Adventist Health Psychiatric Hospital in Vallejo. She specializes in treating depression, anxiety and PTSD and is trained in the Neuro Affective Relational Model, a treatment for complex, or childhood trauma.
Prior to becoming a therapist, Lesley was a newspaper reporter and editor for more than 20 years. She worked at numerous newspapers, including the Vallejo Times-Herald, the Vacaville Reporter, the Contra Costa Times and the San Francisco Chronicle, as well as the San Francisco Bureau of the Associated Press. She received numerous awards for her journalism work.
Lesley has a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism from San Francisco State University and a Masters of Arts in Counseling Psychology from San Francisco State University. She lives in Vallejo.
Solano County’s Mental Health Advisory Board was established in 1977. Proposition 1, approved by voters on March 5, 2024, and new legislation enacted under SB 326, the Behavioral Services Act (signed by the Governor on October 12, 2023, and effective immediately), recast the Mental Health Services Act by renaming it to the Behavioral Health Services Act and expanded it to include treatment of substance use disorders. Included in SB 326 is the requirement that each county have a behavioral health board, which encompasses both mental/emotional wellbeing and substance use. On December 5, 2023, the Board of Supervisors approved renaming the Mental Health Advisory Board to the Behavioral Health Advisory Board and approved bylaws for the BHAB
The membership roster includes one position filled by a member of the Board of Supervisors, which is currently held by Supervisor Monica Brown.
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
The costs associated with preparing the agenda item are nominal and absorbed by District 2’s FY2024/25 Working Budget.
ALTERNATIVES:
The Board may choose not to approve this appointment, but this is not recommended as Ms. Guth’s extensive knowledge of behavioral health is beneficial to the BHAB.
OTHER AGENCY INVOLVEMENT:
The Department of Health and Social Services (H&SS).
CAO RECOMMENDATION:
APPROVE DEPARTMENTAL RECOMMENDATION