Behavioral Health & Recovery Services

BHRS has community meetings for stakeholder feedback and educational opportunities. Two meetings being held in early December are the Mental Health Services Act (MHSA) and Quality Improvement Committee (QIC) Joint Stakeholder Forum and the Safe Rx Committee.

The MHSA and QIC Joint Forum is an opportunity for stakeholders to review data and provide feedback on specialty mental health services, MHSA services, and provide opportunities to increase knowledge related to services provided and the MHSA plan. MHSA & QIC forum will be held Wednesday December 6, 2023 3:00 pm – 5:00 pm Redwood Valley, Behavioral Health Regional Training Center 8270 East Road 95470 and via zoom: https://mendocinocounty.zoom.us/j/82955303472

The Safe Rx Committee is a group of stakeholders involved in the response and prevention of opioids and other substance misuse. The Committee meets monthly to discuss upcoming activities, status of various grants and projects, and additional opportunities for increasing community safety and response. Safe Rx meets next Wednesday December 6, 2023, from 8:30 am- 9:30 am via zoom: https://mendocinocounty.zoom.us/j/82955303472

Child Support Services

The Mendocino County Department of Child Support Services is currently serving 2800 families to obtain financial and medical support.

County Counsel

As of December 1, 2023, the bulk of the County’s active civil litigation (34 cases) is handled in house, with only 5 cases utilizing the assistance of outside counsel. County Counsel attorneys regularly appear in all departments of the Mendocino County Superior Court, the California Court of Appeal, First Appellate District, and in federal courts, including the Northern District of California and US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.



During calendar year 2023, County Counsel attorneys assisted with closing 25 lawsuits filed against the County and have handled 65 bail bond matters.

Click here for more County Counsel statistics.

County Counsel will be hosting a Brown Act & Ethics Training via Teams on Tuesday, January 16^th 9:00-11:00. To register, please email Julianna Chapman chapmanj@mendocinocounty.gov with each individual’s name and email address who desires to participate.

Cultural Services Agency

The Library applied for a California State Library Inspiration grant. If received, it will provide funding for a Build-a-Robot series of workshops for children and teens, as well as STEM books and coding robots for the Library collection. We are also continuing to work on applying for a grant to improve technical services for the Coast Community Branch.

Lindsey Dick of the Mendocino County Museum and curators Chelsee Boehm of the Grace Hudson Museum and Sun House, Sheri Hansen of the Anderson Valley Historical Society were featured at the exhibit, “Her Side of the Story: Tales of California Pioneer Women” discussion. This brought together 40 community members to talk about local history and reflect on ongoing efforts to preserve underrepresented stories in Museum collections countywide encouraging a continued effort to build a culture of equity and inclusion. 

Executive Office

During the June 20, 2023, Board of Supervisors meeting, the CEO was directed by General Consensus Of The Board to direct staff to publish a progress indicator on how many parcels have been assessed, the total dollar amount assessed, and staffing levels of appraisers in each Edition of the CEO Report, with a goal of closing the gap and reaching 85 percent (currently at or around 70 percent) over the next 24 months.

Click here for the full report.

General Services Agency

The General Services Agency (GSA), Fleet Division, has commenced the rollout of Advanced Vehicle Diagnostic Telematics in various fleet vehicles. To date Fleet has ordered and received 74 devices and has installed 50 devices (Facilities and various Administration Complex departments) with 9 more installations scheduled. The remaining 13 devices will be installed in Animal Shelter and Public Health assigned County vehicles.

Of the current 290 vehicles in the County Fleet that are serviced by the Garage, 149 qualify for installation of telematics devices. Moving forward, fleet will be working with the Department of Social Services for the acquisition and installation of an additional 51 units to be installed in the 51 vehicles currently assigned to the Department of Social Services.

Click here to read more.

Grants Division

Amplifund, the County's new web-based grant management software, is moving forward as scheduled. Amplifund is designed to streamline grant administrative tasks and maintain compliance with regulatory guidelines. Its key features include grant award tracking, expense and budget tracking, due date tracking, impact measurement, and payment tracking. 

Click here to read more.

Human Resources

The function of Human Resources involves managing the recruitment, development, well-being, and performance of government employees, while also ensuring compliance with regulations and promoting the efficient delivery of public services. Human Resources is happy to report the following updates:

Civil Service Rules Under Revision: At the direction of the Board of Supervisors, Human Resources has been in the process of reviewing and overhauling the Civil Service Rules to create a more efficient and modernized Civil Service system.

Build Success with a Lifestyle Coach: All County of Mendocino employees, and members of their household, can take advantage of lifestyle coaching, provided for free through the County’s Employee Assistance Program. 

Click here to read more.

Social Services

The Mendocino County In-Home Supportive Services (IHSS) program recently received a 94% timely reassessment rate from the California State Annual Quality Assurance Review. 

Behavioral Health & Recovery Services

In 2023, Behavioral Health sponsored or participated in 36 community wellness outreach events in ten different areas of the County, providing free prevention, intervention, treatment, and recovery resources to community members. Behavioral Health has brought Elevate Youth and Friday Night Live prevention programs to the communities of Willits, Anderson Valley, and Fort Bragg, providing life skills, social emotional learning, and substance misuse education to improve outcomes for youth in Mendocino County. For more information on bringing youth empowerment education free to your community, please call (707) 472-2377 or email BHRSPrevention@mendocinocounty.gov

Click here to read more.

Cultural Services Agency

Senior Power is an opportunity for older adults to improve their strength, balance, and conditioning. A physical therapist from the Round Valley Indian Health Center led this hour-long class on three Thursdays in November. This program supports resilience and community health by promoting physical activity and giving seniors a model for developing their own physical activity routines.

In early November, Fort Bragg Branch Library partnered with Friends of Health (& Cancer Resource Centers of Mendocino County) to host a three-day Altar Hall celebrating Día de los Muertos (Day of the Dead). The library's altar on the main floor included an interactive display where patrons wrote cards, sharing memories of loved ones who had passed.

Willits Branch is excited to bring back Craft Saturdays during the month of December. Each Saturday there will be a different craft for the whole family. The theme is “winter crafts” and will include acorn garland, painting gnomes, a votive candle holder, and a snow globe.

Environmental Health

Environmental Health has successfully implemented the installation of fish advisories at various local fishing spots. The division secured grant funds from the state, enabling the acquisition of necessary equipment to comply with the new state mandate. These informative signs have been strategically placed along the Russian River, at three County parks in Potter Valley, and several locations around Lake Mendocino. This project was completed with the cooperation of the Army Corps of Engineers, and the Department of Transportation.

Click here to read more.

General Services Agency

GSA completed sustainability training and outreach with Public Health. The goal is to bring awareness to the County’s sustainability policy, Policy No. 44 as well as changing State regulations. GSA will continue to provide departments ongoing training.

Departments can reach out to General Services Agency, Central Services by calling 707-234-6050 or by emailing generalservices@mendocinocounty.gov to schedule a presentation. GSA is ready to answer any questions County staff may have regarding sustainable practices. GSA is ready to answer any questions County staff may have regarding sustainable practices.

Click here to read more.

Public Health

Community Wellness division was extremely pleased to be out in the community the weekend of September 22-24, 2023. Two staff attended the Round Valley Indian Health Clinic's 43rd Annual Health Fair on Friday. It was a beautiful day to support the community's efforts by sharing healthy resources and distributing pertinent information. On Saturday, two staff also attended Coastal Clean-Up Day. One spent the morning with our Blue Zones partners as part of the Ukiah Valley Russian River Cleanup. The other worked with our Tribal partners cleaning up on the Coast. Staff also attended the Mendocino County Fair in Boonville on Friday and Sunday, alongside our partners Tobacco Free North Coast and NorCal for Health. This was a great opportunity to engage with Mendocino County's residents from near and far who traveled to the County Fair. In October, Community Wellness attended The Willits Arts Party on October 1 and Pumpkin Fest on October 14 & 15, handing out materials and offering a Re-Think Your Drink hydration station. All these activities in our beautiful county support healthy choices for all.

Click here to read more.

Social Services

Family & Children’s Services (FCS) is pleased to announce our Family First Prevention Services Comprehensive Prevention Plan (CPP), developed in collaboration with the Cahto Tribe of the Laytonville Rancheria, has been approved by the California Department of Social Services! We are now working with the Cahto Tribe’s Executive Committee to develop contracts to implement the plan. A copy of the plan can be found on the Mendocino County Children’s Services

website at: https://www.mendocinocounty.org/home/showpublisheddocument/61714/638367530677312923

Funding for this plan is one time State General Funding which currently expires June 30, 2024, although it is anticipated that the State may extend the time frame for use of the funding for an additional fiscal year. The State’s Family First Prevention Services program provides counties the opportunity to prepare for California’s implementation of the federal Family First Prevention Services Act (FFPSA) Part 1, which will allow counties to use funding that is currently reserved for services only once a child is in foster care, to be used for evidence-based prevention and trauma-informed services for children and youth who are at imminent risk for entry into foster care. It is anticipated California will be able to implement FFPSA Part 1 around October 2026.

Click here to read more.

Auditor-Controller

On December 4, 2023, Acting Auditor-Controller/Treasurer-Tax Collector Sara Pierce submitted this year's Annual Comprehensive Financial Report ("ACFR") of the County of Mendocino for the fiscal year ended June 30, 2022. This ACFR is intended to present information above and beyond what is required by Generally Accepted Accounting Principles ("GAAP") or state law.

Click here to review the report in full.

Child Support Services

A total of $461,838.93 in court ordered child support was collected in the month of October. There are 675 dependent children receiving medical coverage.

Cultural Services Agency

In November library staff held a “Getting Started with eBooks” program on the Bookmobile’s South Coast route. This program introduced borrowers to the Libby, Hoopla, and Palace Project apps. Staff were on hand to help patrons learn how to access these free databases, download, install the accompanying applications, and gain access to materials.

General Services Agency

GSA conducts its procurement process in a competitive, open, and fair manner. To safeguard this principle, all parties involved in the procurement process are required to abide by the policies and procedures adopted by the County. To find out more regarding Request for Proposals (RFP’s), Request for Bids (RFB’s) and Request for Quotes (RFQ’S), click on the link below.

Open RFP, Quotes & Bids | Mendocino County, CA

Click here to read more.

Grants Division

The Grants Unit worked with Tony Rakes, Acting Deputy CEO, to submit a project idea for additional low-level design broadband planning in Mendocino County to Redwood Region Rise for their inventory of California Jobs First-aligned projects in November. Redwood Region Rise is soliciting proposed projects in the region that can be brought forward for $14 million Catalyst funding from the State of California. Staff engages with the monthly Redwood Region Rise HRTC meetings. The Executive Office has worked closely with Planning and Building Services to migrate management of identified CDBG grants to Executive Office staff. Staff will present the program's status and request direction from the board on the next steps at the 12/5 BOS meeting. 

Click here to read more.

Planning & Building Services

During the month of November, Planning and Building Services staff were out in the community engaging with the public and soliciting feedback on several topics.

On November 13, 2023, the Planning and Building Services Director and Environmental Health Director held a Coastal Community Stakeholder Meeting. The Meeting provided the opportunity to update the community on work being completed and our collaborative efforts to improve processes that involve both Departments. Participants were also provided with an opportunity to provide feedback or ask questions of both Departments. 

For additional updates from Planning & Building including the launch of SolarApp+, progress on the Local Coastal Program, and the implementation of reporting Department Metrics, please click here.

Behavioral Health & Recovery Services

In 2023, Behavioral Health distributed 1,273 boxes (or 2,546 doses) of Narcan, opioid overdose reversal medication. In September, the California Department of Healthcare Services approved BHRS’ Naloxone Distribution Plan submitted by Mendocino County Behavioral Health, greatly expanding our capacity to deliver free Narcan to the community in an effort to combat opioid overdoses. During September and October, Behavioral Health distributed 651 boxes (or 1,302 doses) of free Narcan to individuals and agencies Countywide. In October, Behavioral Health provided two Overdose Emergency Response boxes to Consolidated Tribal Health, and five Overdose Emergency Response boxes to Mendocino County Courts for installation at their facilities. Previously donated boxes have been installed at each of our county libraries, and the Ukiah Conference Center. BHRS learned that Narcan provided to the Mendocino County Sheriff’s Deputies was used in a successful overdose reversal during the month of October. In addition to offering free trainings and Narcan, the Mendocino County Prevention and Wellness Unit is offering administrative support to any qualifying agency within the County that wishes to apply to the Naloxone Distribution Project to receive free Narcan from the State. Call (707) 472-2312 or email BHRSPrevention@mendocinocounty.gov for more information. 

Cultural Services Agency

Coast Community Branch is participating in Hometown Holidays on Saturday, December 9, sponsored by the Point Arena Merchants Association (PAMA). The library will be offering special holiday crafts from 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., the Friends of the Library will be offering a big book sale from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and PAMA’s Santa will be in the library all afternoon.

Do you want to give handmade gifts this giving season? Join the Ukiah Branch Library on Friday, December 15 from 3:30-5:30 p.m. to make unique jewelry using shrink art. This event is for ages 12 and up, reservations are required and is sponsored by the Ukiah Valley Friends of the Library and the Mendocino County Library. To make your reservation or find out more information, please visit or contact the Ukiah Branch Library. 

General Services Agency

Award of the contract for the SB 844 Jail Mental Health Wing Project to Broward Builders, Inc. of Woodland was approved by the Board of Supervisors with final State approval expected in January 2024. The project is expected to break ground in February 2024 and take approximately 24 months to complete.

With the demolition of the skilled nursing facility at Whitmore Lane complete, the design team is working to complete the construction drawings for the new Psychiatric Health Facility for bidding in the spring of 2024. Current projections show completion before the end of 2025.

Click here to read more.

Grants Division

In October, the Grants Unit worked with DOT and Facilities to submit a $10 million USDA Forest Service Community Wildfire Defense Grant Application. If awarded this five-year project, would implement aggressive vegetation management and hazardous tree removal throughout the County while building staff capacity through planning and capital equipment purchases.

Prevention, Recovery, Resiliency, and Mitigation Division

The Prevention, Recovery, Resiliency, and Mitigation Division (PRRM) has been working diligently with Public Health regarding the response and potential outcome of the FEMA letter dated October 16, 2023, titled Emergency Non-Congregate Sheltering – FEMA-4482-DR-CA (COVID-19) pertaining to Project Roomkey. 

Click here to read more.

Cultural Services Agency

Mendocino County Library Outreach has an event in partnership with the City of Ukiah at Winterfest 2023 on December 16 from noon to 4 p.m., location to be announced. We are excited to bring our pop-up library with holiday books, library card station, and Take & Make craft bags to this fun family community event.

General Services Agency

Click HERE to view additional information submitted by the General Services Agency.

Central Services Project Report

CI Projects Timeline

Project Summary