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For the past 60 years, Caminar has never wavered in our commitment to providing high-quality, evidence-based treatment for mental health and substance use needs; supporting those needs is at the center of everything that we do.
To ensure we’re serving our mission to the absolute best of our abilities in the seven counties that we support across Northern California, we, as an organization, must constantly adapt and evolve to ongoing and often unexpected changes at the county, state, and federal levels.
As part of the State of California’s reforms of the Medi-Cal program, recent changes to payment methods and rates have been implemented, negatively impacting multiple counties and service providers across the state. For Caminar, these changes resulted in the difficult decision to close some programs in San Mateo and Solano Counties that serve individuals with a severe mental illness (SMI) diagnosis, including our crisis residential treatment services at Redwood House.
We vigorously pursued all avenues to increase county contract reimbursement rates and reduce expenses to avoid closing any programs.
The decision to close Redwood House came after we engaged in multiple rate negotiations with San Mateo County, which administers the Medi-Cal program in San Mateo. Both Caminar and the County engaged in good faith efforts to reach a new agreed-upon rate. Unfortunately, the rates offered – based on historical utilization rates that didn’t account for the costs of outreach, retention, case management, medication management, and client transportation for SMI clients – never reached the rate required to operate the program and break even. With payments for services falling substantially below the actual cost required to run the program, Caminar projected significant financial losses that required us to end the contract with the San Mateo County Behavioral Health Department for crisis residential treatment services. The new rates also affected the financing of other programs serving people with severe mental illness due to no longer paying for critical components of care necessary to reach clients, such as outreach, transportation to medical appointments, and retaining clinically complex clients in their care programs. To protect the organization's financial health and ensure continued delivery of care to our other clients, we feel this was the most appropriate decision based on the situation at hand.
Thanks to the dedication and commitment of our staff, all Redwood House clients have successfully transitioned to other residential or clinically appropriate care programs. More than half of the Redwood House clients have been placed in Caminar’s Eucalyptus and Hawthorne Houses.
We remain committed to providing our other evidence-based, whole-person care services in San Mateo County, including case management, residential mental health care, psychiatry, psychotherapy, job training, supported education, and outpatient substance use treatment. We value our relationships with the Behavioral Health Departments in all counties we serve. We remain focused on the new opportunities that lie ahead.
More specifically, there’s a lot on the horizon for 2025, including:
I am grateful for the ongoing commitment and support of our staff, board members, and volunteers who helped us serve over 41,000 youth, families, and individuals in FY 2023-24.
In a world where mental health and substance use challenges can take over people's lives, Caminar exists as a beacon of safety and compassion. We continue to stand firm in our approach and dedication, guided by our mission to build strength and stability and to help individuals and communities thrive. This will continue to define Caminar for the next 60 years and beyond – regardless of any challenges or changes that come our way.
To echo the sentiments of philanthropist Melinda French Gates: "Optimism is not a belief that things will automatically get better; it's a conviction that we can make them better.” And with that conviction in our hearts, we’re turning the corner into 2025.
Thank you for joining us in pursuit of fulfilling Caminar’s mission.
