County Health and Social Services receives Kresge Foundation grant to support integration efforts

November 8, 2019

SOLANO COUNTY – The Solano County Department of Health and Social Services (H&SS) is pleased to announce that they are one of five agencies nationwide to be selected and awarded a $300,000 grant from the Kresge Foundation as part of the Integrating Health and Human Services: Systems for Equitable & Thriving Communities funding opportunity.  Solano County H&SS will use the grant funds to integrate health and human service systems to create a more seamless and streamlined experience for families and community members seeking H&SS programs and services.

Solano County H&SS is working to improve the client experience by developing a "no wrong door" approach to health care.  This approach will allow clients to more easily navigate and access services, regardless of the campus they visit or program in which they initially enroll. The Kresge grant will also establish a shared vocabulary to define behavioral health and social wellbeing, allowing staff across multiple divisions to communicate more effectively and deliver a higher quality of services to clients.

“We are truly honored to be recognized by the Kresge Foundation and awarded these funds to help improve the programs and services we offer our clients here in Solano County,” says Gerald Huber, Director of Solano County Health and Social Services.  “This grant funding will allow us to better understand the needs of our clients while addressing their needs quicker and more appropriately.”

With this grant, H&SS will recruit and train community liaisons to capture community-driven definitions of behavioral health and social wellbeing, and address systemic inequities in their practices.  Community liaisons will recruit and facilitate focus groups within the County's underserved populations. Liaisons will also assist in hosting community discussions in all seven cities, with the intended goal to capture concerns from a wide range of Solano County residents.

About the Kresge Foundation
The Kresge Foundation was founded in 1924 to promote human progress. Today, Kresge fulfills that mission by building and strengthening pathways to opportunity for low-income people in America’s cities, seeking to dismantle structural and systemic barriers to equality and justice. Using a full array of grant, loan, and other investment tools, Kresge invests more than $160 million annually to foster economic and social change. For more information, visit www.kresge.org.