COUNTY OF SAN MATEO

Inter-Departmental Correspondence

Board of Supervisors

DATE:

December 13, 2007

BOARD MEETING DATE:

January 8, 2008

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 Kathleen Bernard 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 four vacancies on the Mental Health Advisory Board including two of the vacancies for the consumer position.

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

Kathleen Bernard is a resident of Pacifica who is a consumer of mental health services in San Mateo County. Among her many civic engagements, Ms. Bernard volunteers as a Personal Care Attendant for Missionary (Gift of Love) attending to the care of the terminally ill.

FISCAL IMPACT:

None.