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Service Area Boards

What are Services Area Boards on Mental Health and Substance Abuse?

There are four (4) Service Area Boards on Mental Health and Substance Abuse (SABs), one representing each County.

In alignment with §334-11, Hawaii Revised Statutes, County SABs are comprised of nine volunteers who are service area residents (e.g., reside within the County). The majority of SAB members are mental health and/or substance abuse treatment service recipients, family members, and non-providers.

SABs provide advice, guidance, and recommendations to the Governor, through the Hawaii State Council on Mental Health (SCMH) and the Hawaii Advisory Commission on Drug Abuse and Controlled Substances (HACDACS).

SABs are attached to the Hawaii State Department of Health for administrative purposes. Each SAB is assigned a Service Area Administrator (Community Mental Health Center Branch Program Manager) who helps to arrange administrative support and technical assistance for SAB activities.

SAB activities include:

  • Advising the Service Area Administrator about service area needs to prevent and treat mental health or emotional disorders, combined mental illness/substance abuse disorders (co-occurring), and persons affected by these disorders;
  • Providing advice, guidance, and recommendations to HACDACS and the SCMH regarding mental health and substance abuse activities within each County including County-based mental health service budget review, service area planning, capacity and population data relative to service needs, and identifying service gaps and areas for improvement; and
  • Producing a County-based Comprehensive Integrated Service Area Plan (CISAP) including a budget which is shared annually with the SCMH for further discussion and inclusion in the Statewide Comprehensive Integrated Service Plan (SCISP).