COUNTY OF SAN MATEO

Inter-Departmental Correspondence

Board of Supervisors

DATE:

August 3, 2007

BOARD MEETING DATE:

August 14, 2007

SPECIAL NOTICE/HEARING:

No

VOTE REQUIRED:

No

TO:

Honorable Board of Supervisors

FROM:

Richard Gordon & Mark Church

SUBJECT:

Appointments to the Mental Health Advisory Board

RECOMMENDATION:

It is recommended that John Robert Castro be appointed to the Mental Health Board representing the category of Consumer. The appointment would be effective immediately and run for a term to conclude on September 30, 2009.

VISION ALIGNMENT:

Commitment: 2

Goal(s): Civic engagement -- including voting, public service, charitable giving, volunteerism, and participation in public discussions of important issues -- is uniformly high among the diverse population of San Mateo County.

BACKGROUND:

There are currently three vacancies on the Mental Health Advisory Board. Two of the vacancies are for the consumer position. One vacancy is for either the consumer or family member position.

A recruitment was conducted and serving as the Board Sub-Committee for this appointment process, we received five applications and conducted one interview. Members of the Mental Health Board joined us for this interview. We believe that Mr. Castro would be a valuable addition to the Mental Health Board.

John Robert Castro is a resident of East Palo Alto who is a consumer of mental health services in San Mateo County. Among his many civic engagements, Mr. Castro has volunteered at the Community Transition Center at the Menlo Park VA and has co-facilitated psycho-educational classes.

FISCAL IMPACT:

None.