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The state budget signed Monday restored some of the funding Gov. Gavin Newsom cut for safety net services. This will help the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors as they fund local services. Courtesy San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight.<\/p>\nThe state budget signed Monday restored some of the funding Gov. Gavin Newsom cut for safety net services. This will help the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors as they fund local services. Courtesy San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight.<\/p>\n
Santa Clara County officials are exhaling as\u00a0the state spending plan for fiscal year 2026-27\u00a0pares back steep cuts initially proposed by Gov. Gavin Newsom.<\/p>\n
The state budget signed Monday, June 29, includes $900 million for homeless services,\u00a0nearly double what Newsom had initially suggested<\/a>. The budget also keeps funding intact for in-home care and mobile mental health crisis teams, increases funding for food banks to $100 million, provides loans and grants to public hospitals and delays some\u00a0Medi-Cal cuts for immigrants.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019m relieved the Legislature successfully negotiated a stronger budget than the governor initially proposed,\u201d District 4 Santa Clara County Supervisor Susan Ellenberg told San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight.<\/p>\n When Newsom released his proposed budget in May, county leaders said it would\u00a0tack\u00a0on an additional $231 million<\/a>\u00a0in losses to public hospitals this fiscal year \u2014 increasing to $322 million the following year. The county\u2019s hospital system accounts for a third of the county\u2019s annual budget, at\u00a0$4.7 billion<\/a>, and is California\u2019s second largest public healthcare system.<\/p>\n However, the budget passed by\u00a0state lawmakers reduces those original losses and\u00a0includes $250 million in one-time grants to support public hospitals statewide.<\/p>\n \u201cCredit for that goes to the legislators who said, \u2018We recognize the role of public hospitals and we\u2019re going to try and mitigate the effects of (President Donald Trump\u2019s) cuts on public hospitals,\u2019\u201d Bob Brownstein,\u00a0strategic advisor for advocacy group Working Partnerships USA, told San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight. \u201cThis was a must win decision for Santa Clara County in order to be able to maintain the structure of the delivery of healthcare.\u201d<\/p>\n However, the state budget did not allocate money toward indigent care, which is free or discounted care given to uninsured low-income individuals.\u00a0California\u2019s welfare laws require counties to provide basic services to low-income people when they are not eligible for other programs.<\/p>\n Brownstein said as funding cuts to Medi-Cal cause people to lose health insurance, there will be a growing number of people in the indigent care category.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are going to be more and more people who are going to show up at hospitals and clinics, not on Medi-Cal, but in need of medical services, not having the ability to pay for it,\u201d he said. \u201cThe state\u2019s role in funding it has to be recognized.\u201d<\/p>\n County Executive James Williams said while he is grateful for the state providing one-time funding for things like hospitals, it\u2019s still not a long-term solution.<\/p>\n \u201cThe state budget places a Band-Aid on our immediate needs with the allocation of mostly one-time funds, and long\u2011term funding is still desperately needed to preserve access to healthcare and protect the public hospital systems that millions of Californians rely on for critical care,\u201d Williams told San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight. \u201cWe will stay vigilant and fully engaged with our state advocacy as the impacts of H.R. 1 continue to intensify, because delaying meaningful solutions will only increase system strain and put lifesaving services that we all depend on at risk.\u201d<\/p>\n Funds for housing<\/p>\n On the housing front, the state will allocate $500 million in low-income housing tax credits to build more affordable homes. That\u2019s in addition to the $900 million the state is giving the Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention (HHAP) program, which\u00a0covers services such as homelessness prevention, temporary and permanent housing and outreach. San Jose has largely used HHAP dollars toward funding shelter operation costs.<\/p>\n Although funds for mobile crisis teams will be preserved, Ellenberg is disappointed that more funding isn\u2019t going toward\u00a0behavioral health.<\/p>\n \u201cThe need here in Santa Clara County has only grown, yet the funding simply hasn\u2019t kept pace,\u201d Ellenberg said. \u201cWe do see bright spots \u2014 especially the support flowing to school wellness centers and the expansion of school\u2011based Medi\u2011Cal billing, which will make a real difference for our youth \u2014 but the broader behavioral health landscape remains very concerning.\u201d<\/p>\n Challenges in behavioral health<\/p>\n The county Behavioral Health Services Department faced a\u00a0massive $100 million deficit due<\/a>\u00a0to federal cuts\u00a0triggered by \u00a0Trump\u2019s spending bill H.R. 1<\/a>, which led the county to\u00a0close three treatment clinics<\/a>.<\/p>\n In addition, there\u2019s been a major shift in mental health treatment. The state is\u00a0mandating how money can be spent<\/a>, with more emphasis placed on acute care rather than preventive services.<\/p>\n County leaders are reevaluating how to fund behavioral health services after\u00a0ramping up preventive services by implementing more\u00a0residential treatment facilities<\/a>, adding a\u00a0behavior health navigator program<\/a>, launching a\u00a0mental health mobile crisis<\/a>\u00a0program and other proactive efforts.<\/p>\n