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Extracted from Consolidated Report

This investigation was originally published as part of a larger consolidated report containing multiple investigations. View the consolidated PDF for the complete document.

Santa Barbara County Grand Jury • 2019-2020

Santa Barbara County Courthouse

Published: June 30, 2019 15 pages

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⚠️ Translation Notice: This content has been automatically translated. The original English text is the official version. Translation may contain errors.

⚠️ Este contenido ha sido traducido automáticamente. El texto original en inglés es la versión oficial. La traducción puede contener errores.

Findings 9 findings

F1 Page 62

There are no Crisis Stabilization Units for children and youth in Santa Barbara County as an alternative to out-of-county hospitalizations.

F2 Page 62

There are no licensed Temporary Shelter Care Facilities for children and youth in Santa Barbara County as an alternative to out-of-county hospitalizations.

F3 Page 62

The crisis call-in phone service and mobile crisis staff of both the contracted provider SAFTY and the Department of Behavioral Wellness’ ACCESS 24/7 Mobile Crisis teams often do not respond to the scene of a crisis or return phone calls in a timely manner.

F4 Page 62

The SAFTY mobile crisis workers do not write 5585 holds in a timely manner because they lack authority to do so without first consulting a supervisor.

F5 Page 62

The Department of Behavioral Wellness does not keep readily accessible data on the numbers of children on 5585 holds hospitalized out of County, where they are sent, their length of stay in each facility, and the cost of their treatment.

F6 Page 63

The Children’s Triage Program staff interacts with children and youth in crisis and their families in the Emergency Rooms and works to ensure community re-integration and linkage to behavioral health services upon discharge from the ER or psychiatric hospitals.

F7 Page 63

On-line, comprehensive information on mental health services, community supports and resources for children and youth who are experiencing a crisis in Santa Barbara County is not readily available on a central website.

F8 Page 72

Wellpath medical staff and Sheriff custody staff responding to the “man down” announcement was unaware of the location of life-saving resuscitation equipment and that it was not functional.

F9 Page 72

The Jail is operating without National Commission on Correctional Heath Care (NCCHC) accreditation, contrary to the contract requirement.

Recommendations 14

R1
Page 62

That the Board of Supervisors direct the Department of Behavioral Wellness to pursue the establishment of a licensed Crisis Stabilization Unit that can accommodate adults, children and youth in Santa Maria.
R2
Page 62

That the Board of Supervisors direct the Department of Behavioral Wellness to explore partnerships with community agencies to sponsor and maintain licensed Temporary Shelter Care Facilities for children and youth in Santa Barbara County.
R3
Page 71

That the Sheriff require the current contract health care provider, Wellpath, to assure that its staff adhere to all policies, procedures, and contractual obligations regarding the assessment of the medical/mental health status of arrestees upon their arrival at the Jail.
R3a
Page 62

That the Board of Supervisors direct the Department of Behavioral Wellness to establish and implement measurable response times, and to track and evaluate the efficacy of their crisis response services.
R3b
Page 62

That the Board of Supervisors direct the Department of Behavioral Wellness to require its contracted partner SAFTY to respond in the field for face-to-face evaluations more quickly and frequently.
R4
Page 62

That the Board of Supervisors direct the Department of Behavioral Wellness to require the crisis response staff of their contracted partner, SAFTY, to receive more training to acquire the authority to write 5585 holds independently and in a timely manner.
R5
Page 63

That the Board of Supervisors direct the Department of Behavioral Wellness to design and implement a computerized record of the 5585 holds that are written, where the children are hospitalized out of County, their length of stay in each facility, and the cost of their treatment.
R6
Page 72

That the Sheriff require custody staff to receive continued training regarding policies and procedures to be followed in a “man down” situation, particularly to assure proper management and control of the scene and to release personnel no longer needed there.
R6a
Page 63

That the Board of Supervisors direct the Department of Behavioral Wellness to evaluate the efficacy of the new Crisis Triage Program by keeping statistics on the number of children served and process outcomes.
R6b
Page 63

That the Board of Supervisors direct the Department of Behavioral Wellness to continue to pursue the full implementation of the Children’s Triage Program in South County.
R6c
Page 63

That the Board of Supervisors direct the Department of Behavioral Wellness to integrate the funding of the Children’s Triage Program into the Department of Behavioral Wellness budget on an ongoing basis.
R7
Page 63

That the Board of Supervisors direct the Department of Behavioral Wellness to design, post and keep current an on-line dashboard that provides comprehensive contact information on mental health services and community resources for children and youth in all geographic areas of Santa Barbara County, and publicize this resource to the community at large.
R8
Page 72

That the Sheriff require Wellpath to inspect, repair and replace emergency life-saving equipment on a regular schedule; maintain a service log; and train custody staff regarding the location of life-saving equipment.
R9
Page 72

That the Board of Supervisors closely examine the provisions of the existing medical provider contract and enforce all of the current provider’s obligations, especially with regard to the continuing failure to obtain National Commission on Correctional Heath Care (NCCHC) accreditation for the Jail.

No Responses Found 1

Government entities assigned to respond to this report. No response documents have been linked in our database.

Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors Elected County Office