City of Turlock officials are criticizing a Stanislaus County plan to secure more residential placements in Turlock for people with mental health and substance abuse disorders.
Mayor Amy Bublak said it was “dismaying” to find out from A & A Health Services, the company contracted by the County to provide residential treatment in Turlock, “that the target populations for the complex will be persons with severe mental health challenges, the homeless and persons recently released from state prison or county jail.”
The site of the planned residential facility, 1617 Colorado Ave. formerly known as Las Palmas Estates, located near Dutcher Middle School, something that is also a problem, according to Bublak.
“The County and the developer could not have picked a worse location than so close to Dutcher Middle School, across from a center that treats autistic children, in a residential neighborhood and cluster of medical professionals,” the Mayor said in a statement released on Friday.
According to County officials, “Stanislaus County Behavioral Health has been using the care facility located at 1617 Colorado Avenue in Turlock for decades to support behavioral health consumers. We are not aware of any objections from the City of Turlock during that time.”
The County had been contracting with A & A Health Services for their facility in San Pablo, and in November 2023 amended the contract to meet the need to provide care locally with A & A’s acquisition of the Turlock property.
The Turlock facility will be considered a Transitional Residential Board and Care home — providing a transition from hospitalized care to a more residential setting. The services provided would include help with basic self-care including meals, medication supervision, monitoring health and hygiene, interpersonal communication, and conflict resolution, as well as social and recreational skills.
“Stanislaus County Behavioral Health, like counties across the state, is focused on providing local behavioral health resources for the residents of our entire county. Availability of services for behavioral health consumers has been challenging for many counties. While we have over 30 service providers across Stanislaus County to take care of our adults with behavioral health needs, there is not enough capacity to meet the need. At times our residents must leave and go to the other counties to receive the care they need. It is important for the county to provide local services for these residents so they can remain close to their families, who can help them in their care and recovery process,” stated the County in a released statement.
The Stanislaus County Board of Supervisors approved the contract with A & A Health Services, 4-0, with Supervisor Channce Condit absent, at their Nov. 7, 2023 meeting. The $4.8 million contract with A&A Health Services expanded the County’s original 60 guaranteed beds to a total of 89 beds. Services will be funded by a combination of a California Department of Health Care Services Behavioral Health Bridge Housing (BHBH) Program grant and Mental Health Services Act revenue.
The contract states that admissions priority would be individuals enrolled in the Stanislaus County Behavioral Health Services Care Court and then individuals with severe mental illness, substance use disorder or co-occurring disorder who are homeless or at imminent risk of homelessness.
“A & A Health Services offers a level of care that is needed for residents in Stanislaus County. Having access to this type of facility in our community contributes to the overall health, safety, and well-being of residents in Turlock and across the county,” said the County in their released statement.
Along with the Mayor’s reservations about the population that will be served at the Colorado Avenue facility, Turlock City Manager Reagan Wilson also chastised the County for what he said is lack of transparency.
“The City was not briefed on the project and our police chief just heard about it this week despite the obvious impacts it will have on the neighborhood. I could go on, but let’s just say this isn’t how city and county government should collaborate,” Wilson stated.
Wilson said the issue will be addressed at the Feb. 13 Turlock City Council meeting.
