California Official Comes out of Retirement To Lead Troubled Psychological Well being Fee

Veteran California public servant Will Lightbourne has stepped in as interim govt director of the state’s psychological well being fee after its earlier govt director resigned following battle of curiosity allegations.

Lightbourne served as head of the state’s Division of Social Providers for seven years earlier than retiring in 2018 and had already returned to service as soon as, as interim head of the Division of Well being Care Providers on the top of the covid-19 pandemic. On Nov. 4, he was tapped to steer the state’s Psychological Well being Providers Oversight and Accountability Fee after govt director Toby Ewing introduced he would step down.

Paperwork obtained by KFF Well being Information confirmed that Ewing took a visit to the U.Okay. funded by Kooth, a London-based firm that the state contracted to construct a youth psychological well being app. On the similar time, he was working to guard Kooth’s $271 million contract.

Throughout a public listening to the day he introduced his resignation, advocates for psychological well being providers accused the fee of favoring the pursuits of companies over these of the folks it’s purported to serve.

Lightbourne, 75, is now main the fee, an impartial physique charged with guaranteeing that funds from a millionaires tax are used appropriately by counties for psychological well being providers. He mentioned he’ll deal with making the fee as open as attainable, as a nationwide seek for the following govt director begins.

He involves the psychological well being fee at a second of change. With the passage of the Behavioral Health Services Act final yr and its approval by voters this yr as a part of Proposition 1, the fee might be integrating 11 new members beginning in January. And in July 2026, it’ll cease overseeing county funds for psychological well being innovation and can as a substitute get its personal bucket of as much as $20 million a yr to spend on innovation. Conversations are already underway about tips on how to spend the funds.

Lightbourne directed social service businesses in Santa Clara, San Francisco, and Santa Cruz counties earlier than being named director of the state social providers division, the place he launched an effort to maneuver extra foster kids out of establishments and into family-based settings.

Lightbourne spoke to KFF Well being Information correspondent Molly Citadel Work about his objectives for state psychological well being providers. The interview has been edited for size and readability.

Q: You already got here out of retirement as soon as, to steer DHCS in the course of the pandemic. How had been you satisfied to take this job?

A: Again after I was at DHCS, fairly a bit of what’s now the form of well being reconceptualization in California occurred.

There’s a degree the place you’re feeling a way of paternal relationship for lots of the initiatives. What the fee does when it comes to the detailed end work is de facto going to be necessary for this factor to work.

Q: Govt Director Toby Ewing resigned amid accusations of favoritism with the contracts. How can the general public have religion that this gained’t occur once more?

A: I need to be very cautious now, as a result of the best way you phrase the query implies that I settle for the proposition, and I’ve no manner of understanding. What I’ve all the time mentioned in any setting that I’ve been in is all the time deal the playing cards face up. Simply be clear. Be open. When attainable, use aggressive processes.

There’s the well-known three intersecting factors of contracting: You’ll be able to have velocity, you may have high quality, you may have a very good value. Choose two. You’ll be able to’t have three. And you realize, my intuition is all the time to be just a little bit extra skeptical of urgency. I imply, there are large human wants on the market that we need to remedy, however to say the whole lot ought to go by the wayside as a result of issues must occur yesterday — let’s take a beat.

Q: Because the interim govt director, are there guardrails that you just assume should be in place to make sure that taxpayer cash is being spent properly?

A: I don’t know that there’s something that I’m significantly apprehensive about, however I believe it’s my function to assist the fee because it transitions into Prop 1, into BHSA, and right into a everlasting govt director — simply ensure that they’ve obtained all of the procedures that they assume they want — and that we construct a tradition the place we’re positive that they’re able to absolutely see issues coming in entrance of them.

It’s going to be attention-grabbing that come January we’re going so as to add 11 commissioners. It’s an enormous leap. And doing it in a manner that everyone stays engaged — I don’t have a solution but.

The worth-add of this group is that it’s obtained a fee of fairly rattling dedicated individuals who take it very severely and produce lots of talent to it. And also you wouldn’t need to see that misplaced.

Q: Our nation has seen the psychological well being disaster spike over the previous few years. Are there particular areas you need to deal with?

A: I all the time need to be just a little cautious about having yet one more brilliant thought. There’s undoubtedly initiative fatigue on the bottom. Folks have gotten that glazed look. So if there are issues that the fee can do to carry extra sources, extra gamers, extra options that assist, then that’s nice. I simply don’t need us to be piling on new concepts.

Among the issues the fee has already invested in, and I’m attempting to get extra aware of this, just like the early psychosis interventions — that may very well be an actual recreation changer as I perceive it.

Q: How do you assume funding for psychological well being initiatives ought to be prioritized?

A: Actually the outdated notion of full-service partnerships is necessary. It means no matter takes — put a crew collectively, wrap it across the particular person, tackle their core wants, like housing.

Don’t assume that with any individual sleeping underneath the bus shelter which you can tackle their wants whereas they’re nonetheless sitting there, you realize? Transfer them right into a setting the place they’ll really feel secure, they’ve dignity, they’ve their private human wants met, and likewise no matter therapeutic wants or medicine wants or medically assisted remedy wants.

Q: What are you most trying ahead to on this function?

A: Due to the place I’ve been beforehand, I believe there are some apparent connections to make. We don’t need to subordinate the fee to the opposite programs. It’s obtained to have its personal factor. However simply understanding who to bounce with could be useful.

This text was produced by KFF Health News, which publishes California Healthline, an editorially impartial service of the California Health Care Foundation.