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Alameda Countywide Homeless and Special Needs Housing Plan 41 mental health housing programs and approximately $6 million in 16 residential alcohol and other drug programs. BMH has an annual budget of $7.2 million with 65 FTE employees. This includes a $1.1 million program to provide integrated services to the homeless mentally ill (AB 2034) of which a significant portion is allocated to direct housing subsidies. BMH currently provides supportive services to consumers in more than 80 units of dedicated housing, many of which leverage HUD's Section 8, Shelter Plus Care and SHP programs. This includes both AB 2034 and state~funded services. Recent Chanaes in the Response to Mental Health Housina and Services The mental health system is in the midst of a transformation influenced by major changes at the federal and state levels. Important recent factors include: · The Mental Health Services Act (MHSA, or Proposition 63), a landmark legislative initiative passed by California voters in November 2004, providing an ongoing source of funding for mental health programs and proposing a reorientation of the mental health system. BHCS and BMH are in the midst of implementing the MHSA, bringing together traditional and new partners to rethink housing and services for people with mental illness in Alameda County. An initial implementation plan, which drew on recommendations in this plan, was drafted in 2005. · Assembly Bill (AB) 2034, California legislation that supported housing and service programs for mentally ill people homeless or at risk of homelessness or incarceration, demonstrated success with the populations, and set a precedent for the MHSA. BMH operates an AB 2034 program that has engaged over 150 seriously mentally ill homeless adults previously unable or unwilling to receive public mental health services. More than 70 percent have become housed, with dramatically reduced rates of hospitalization and incarceration. The vast majority of these clients were also approved for SSI and Medi-Cal benefits as a result of the 2034 services. Many were previously too disabled to navigate the eligibility and application process; for most, this is their first experience of receiving and benefiting from voluntary mental health services.6 · The Olmstead decision, a U.S. Supreme Court case which found that states may be violating the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) if they provided care to people with disabilities in institutional settings when they could be appropriately served in a community-based setting. · The President's New Freedom Commission on Mental Health, which envisions a transformation in the mental health care system to focus on consumer- and family-centered care, and a shift to emphasize a recovery of symptoms, and addresses the importance of housing. Alameda County also has a major initiative to create cost-effective, comprehensive, and coordinated health care delivery for people who are among the most frequent users of health care services, originally called the Frequent Users of Health Services Initiative.7 The Alameda County Access 6 Berkeley Mental Health, e-mail communication with AIDS Housing of Washington staff, June 3, 2005. 7 Corporation for Supportive Housing, Press release: The Alameda County Access to Care Collaborative Receives Grant to Reduce Health Care Costs and Use of Emergency Medical Services. Available online: www.csh.org/indcx.cfm?fuseaction=Page.viewPage&pageID=3482 (Accessed: January 10,2005). Funded by the California Endowment and the California Health Care Foundation, working in collaboration with the Corporation for Supportive Housing, thc initiative features the collaboration (Alameda County Access to Care Collaborative) of many organizations in Alameda County, including; Alameda Health Consortium, Homeless Action Center, lifeLong Medical Care, Alameda County Medical Center, Alameda County Health Care Services Agency, Alameda County Social Services Agency, Alameda County Community