Opening Statement of Councilmember David Grosso

Performance Oversight Hearing

Committee on Health
January 31, 2020

Thank you, Chairperson Gray and thank you to all of the witnesses here today to testify regarding the
annual performance of the Department of Behavioral Health.

At this time last year, the Department was in a tough place, with an interim director and reeling from a
serious of troubling events and investigations. There was the report from the Center for Court
Excellence showing serious problems with its work justice-involved individuals and the criminal justice
system broadly.

Federal officials had launched an investigation into the Department's mishandling of millions of dollars
awarded to treat opioid addiction and reduce fatal overdoses.

There were the issues with delayed payments to community-based providers, the closure of several
Core Service agencies, a failure of the iCAMS billing system, and poor rollout of the School-Based
Mental Health program as well as the continuing challenge to implement it with fidelity.

At that time, I felt incredibly frustrated with the Department leadership’s failure to ensure the provision
of quality behavioral health services for our residents. As a city, it is imperative that we do better for our
residents. In order to chart a path forward we have to be honest about our missteps, clear in our vision,
and diligent in our effort to provide the highest quality care to some of the most vulnerable among us.

Having a new director has certainly been an important step, and as I said at the time, Dr. Bazron's
appointment came at a critical point for the city and brought an exciting opportunity for meaningful
change. I've enjoyed getting to known about Dr. Bazron and her vision and working together.

I nevertheless remain concerned about the enormous challenges facing the agency, and will ask about
them today including the true integration of substance use disorder treatment, the continued
expansion of the school-based mental health program, the shift to a managed care model for
behavioral health services and the 1115 waiver, ongoing challenges at St. Elizabeth's, resolution of
pending litigation, and the rapid expansion of our CSA network.

And today we learned that the number of deaths due to opioid overdoses increased again last year,
which is incredibly upsetting. So, there are plenty of challenges for Dr. Bazron and her team to address.

Unfortunately, I will have to leave the hearing at times for other meetings but my staff will be here, and
I plan to return when the government witness is up.I want to thank the public and government
witnesses again for your testimony, insight, and commitment to resolving the many critical issues our
city faces.

Thank you.

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