Monday, October 26, 2026

$265,000 Mental Health Grant for Eaton Fire Families Goes Before Financ Committee, Full Council Tuesday

Pasadena’s Finance Committee is scheduled for Tuesday to consider recommending a $265,000 health grant for a new program offering mental health consultation to young children and families affected by the Eaton Fire.

The proposal from the City Manager’s Office would use a two-year L.A. Care Health Plan grant to serve up to 24 children or families and place a mental health consultant and trained interns in contact with children, parents and educators. The Finance Committee may recommend the grant and related spending changes, but the City Council would retain final authority to authorize the agreement and amend the city budget.

The Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Program would focus on children from birth through age 5 who show social-emotional or behavioral challenges in early care and education settings. The Office of the Young Child and Pasadena Public Health Department jointly pursued the funding, according to the staff report for Item 2 on the Oct. 27 agenda.

City staff says young children can have difficulty obtaining behavioral health support when developmental concerns first become apparent. The report warns that reductions in Medicaid funding could further restrict access to early childhood and family services. It proposes targeted consultation outside traditional clinical settings rather than describing the grant as a general expansion of medical insurance coverage.

L.A. Care Health Plan announced its second round of Wildfire Relief Fund support in fall 2025, seeking health and social-service projects for communities affected by fires in Pasadena, Altadena and Pacific Palisades. Pasadena officials submitted their proposal to address behavioral health needs associated with the disaster’s aftermath, with services intended for families affected by the Eaton Fire.

Under the proposed arrangement, grant proceeds would fund one limited-term Program Coordinator I position to manage the initiative during the grant period. The program would also pay for training and other support expenses. A consultant specializing in infant and early childhood mental health and trained interns would work directly with children, families and educators, the report says.

The grant would run from November 2026 through October 2028. If approved, the city would recognize $265,000 in grant revenue and appropriate the same amount to the City Manager’s Office Fiscal Year 2027 operating budget through the General Fund. The proposal would add one full-time-equivalent, limited-term position to the office’s personnel allocation.

Although L.A. Care would not require a local match, the city proposes in-kind contributions of nearly $52,000 from the Pasadena Public Health Department and nearly $61,000 from the City Manager’s Office. Those contributions would support staffing, supervision, data reporting, printing, mileage, computer equipment, office supplies and other program expenses over the grant’s term.

Staff also asks the City Council to find that accepting and budgeting the grant would not constitute a project requiring environmental review under the California Environmental Quality Act, because the administrative actions would not result in physical changes to the environment. The report was prepared by Eva Rivera, coordinator of the Office of the Young Child, and submitted by Alexander Hernandez, assistant to the city manager.

The agenda packet does not provide an enrollment procedure, eligibility screening rules or an opening date for direct services. Those operational details would remain important for Pasadena and Altadena families interested in the program if the City Council approves the proposal.

The Finance Committee is scheduled to meet at 4 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 27, in the City Hall Council Chamber, Room S249, 100 N. Garfield Ave., in Pasadena. For more information call (626) 744-7311 or visit https://www.cityofpasadena.net/commissions/agendas/.