Santa Barbara Sheriff Enmeshed in Convoluted Mental Health App

The executive director of the state mental health commission resigned under fire late last Thursday over an all-expenses-paid six-day trip he took to England this summer, accompanied by Santa Barbara Sheriff Bill Brown and two other commission members. Commission chief Toby Ewing resigned after it was revealed that the trip was paid for by a private British mental health contractor on whose behalf Ewing had lobbied state legislators.

Ewing’s resignation was announced after a four-hour closed session during a meeting of the California Mental Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission, in which several mental health advocates raised objections to what they called poor optics and apparent conflicts of interest in the arrangement.

The company in question, Kooth, makes Soluna, a self-learning and mental health app aimed at users aged 13 to 25. According to state records, Coote paid $15,000 per person to cover travel expenses for Ewing, Brown and one of the other two commissioners who made the trip.

With the state facing a $45 billion deficit, funding for the app was slated to be cut by $140 million—more than half. In its first year of operation, the application significantly underperformed its projected performance targets. Before the trip, Ewing met with the staffs of several key legislative leaders to oppose the proposed cuts. The proposed cuts did not materialize and Soluna’s funding remained unchanged despite its poor initial results. As of May this year, the Soluna app has attracted 20,000 subscribers from a population of 12 million.

Sheriff Brown has been a member of the commission since 2010, making him the senior member. In addition to his duties as sheriff, Brown has played a prominent role in state and national organizations focused on law enforcement and, to a lesser extent, mental health. The commission was created to ensure that mental health funds raised through a millionaires tax approved by state voters in 2004 were spent in accordance with what voters approved.

In an email interview, Brown said he did not lobby anyone on behalf of Coote or the app. “Let me be clear; I had no involvement in the funding of the Kooth app and did not lobby, call or speak to anyone on behalf of Kooth.”

It was only after the trip had already begun, Brown said, that he learned that the Kuta application had suffered funding cuts in the proposed state budget and that that funding had subsequently been restored.

Brown said he went on the trip because “the UK is widely recognized for its progress in addressing mental health needs, particularly in relation to early psychosis.” He noted that Californians are well aware that family members suffering from psychosis “usually receive a response from law enforcement.” Brown said he was invited to participate as the head of the commission on law enforcement diversion.

He added that it is his understanding that the trip and its funding were vetted and approved in advance by the commission’s own counsel, the Fair Political Practices Commission, and the governor’s own offices. With the exception of one open house, Brown said his schedule was dedicated to talking with mental health experts, scientists and health care providers.

The cuts originally proposed for the Kuta application were part of a proposed $360 million cut in mental health services. Ewing, who had served on the commission since 2015 and was paid $175,000 a year, was placed on administrative leave in September of this year due to conflict of interest concerns, according to press reports.

Although his panel did not play a direct role in approving Coote’s contract, it is clear from emails, text messages and meeting logs that Ewing entered the fight for the company when funding for its application was in jeopardy, meeting with Senate leaders and their staffs. proving that the app needs more time to live up to its initial promise. The story broke when three whistleblowers from his office complained to the state auditor.

A commission spokesman declined to comment, and a call to the commission’s attorney was not returned.

There is no evidence that Ewing met with anyone from the office of state Assemblyman Gregg Hart or state Sen. Monique Limón.

During public comment before the commission began its closed deliberations last Thursday, the commission heard from several mental health advocates who were upset that Ewing seemed to favor well-established corporate providers and that he did not understand how bad this affected the mission of the commission.