For Help Dial: (442)-265-1525
Or Call: 1-800-817-5292

For Help Dial:
(442)-265-1525
Or Call:
1-800-817-5292

For Urgent Behavioral Health Support Call:

1-800-817-5292 Available 24/7
Suicide & Crisis Hotline Dial 988
Imperial Valley Reverse 911

For Urgent Behavioral Health Support Call:

1-800-817-5292 Available 24/7
Suicide & Crisis Hotline
Dial 988
Imperial Valley Reverse 911

Behavioral Health Advisory Board

The role and function of the board is to review and evaluate the community’s mental health needs, services, and special problems; review any county agreements entered into pursuant to Section 5650; advise the governing body and the local mental health director as to any aspect of the local mental health program; review and approved the procedures used to ensure citizen and professional involvement at all stages of the planning process; submit an annual report to the governing body on the needs and performance of the county’s mental health system; review and make recommendations on applicants for the appointment of a local director of mental health services; review and comment on the county’s performance outcome data and communicate its findings to the State Mental Health Commission; Perform other duties or functions as may be transferred to the Behavioral Health Advisory Board by the Board of Supervisors; assess the impact of the realignment of services from the state to the county, on services delivered to clients and on the local community.

The Behavioral Health Advisory Board consist of eleven members, 10 members appointed by the Board of Supervisors and one member who is appointed by the Chair of the Board of Supervisors to represent the Board of Supervisors consistent with Section 5604 (a) of the California Welfare and Institutions Code.

Meeting Agenda – November 15, 2022

Imperial County Behavioral Health Advisory Board Annual Report FY 2023-2024

Meeting agendas, minutes and backup documents are available at the ICBHS Administrative Office, 202 N. 8th Street – Third Floor, El Centro, CA or via email request to mhb@co.imperial.ca.us or call (442) 265-1605.

Harold Walk

Chairman of the Board, District 3 Representative

Mr. Walk is employed as s real estate agent by Pat Seay Real Estate. He was raised on a farm in Imperial Valley and is a graduate of Cal Poly, Pomona with a bachelor’s degree in Agricultural Economics. Mr. Walk has an extensive background in real estate, land management, commercial banking, finance and business management. He has served on the Imperial County Mental Health Board for 18 years, and his other current community activity is membership in The Rustlers Social Club. Former activities include serving on the El Centro Planning Commission (14 years), Small Business Development Center Advisory Committee (14 years), Imperial Valley Economic Development Loan Committee (10 years), Imperial Valley College Foundation (2 years), Joint Strike Fighter Committee (2 years), Financial Institutions Fund Committee for Education (2 years) and El Centro Elementary School District Citizens Oversight Committee (4 years). Mr. Walk has two adult children, a daughter, Kelsey, with a doctorate in Physical Therapy and a son, Bryan, with a bachelor’s degree in Economics.

Kurt Leptich

Vice Chairman of the Board, District 4 Representative

Mr. Leptich is the retired Senior Director of the Special Education Department for the Imperial County Office of Education. He has called Imperial County home since 1965. Mr. Leptich finds great happiness with his wife of 35 years along with their two adult daughters and two grandchildren. Personal affiliations include the EL Centro Kiwanis Club, Valley Baptist Church, and the Sunrunners car club. His passions include spending time with a large extended family, rebuilding antique automobiles and working around his house.

Michael Kelly

Representative of the Board of Supervisors

Michael “Mike” W. Kelley is a lifelong resident of Imperial County and a graduate of Imperial Valley College and San Diego State University, Imperial Valley Campus. Mike has been employed by the County of Imperial for the past 49 years; 10 years at Probation and Corrections as Juvenile Detention Officer, Deputy Probation Officer, Assistant Superintendent Juvenile Hall, Superintendent Juvenile Hall, and Director of Juvenile Facilities, and 10 years as Court Administrator/Jury Commissioner for Superior and Municipal Courts of Imperial County, 17 years as Chief Probation Officer, and 12 years as a member of the Board of Supervisors for District 3.

 Mike will serve his fourth term as Board of Supervisor including three times as Chairman of the Board. Mike serves as the President for California Association Local Agency Formation Commissions (CALAFCo) and Chairman for the local, Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO). Since 2013, Mike has served as the Regional Council of Rural Counties (RCRC) representative for the County of Imperial. Mike has served as Mayor and Council member for the City of Imperial, and as past Chairman of Imperial Valley Association of Governments. His extensive and successful experience in the administration of personnel and multi-million dollar budgets has served his community well.

Mike is heavily involved in his community. His most rewarding experience has been coaching team sports such as T-ball, Farm League Baseball, Little League Baseball, Soccer and Pop Warner Football.

As a father and grandfather of children living in Imperial County, Mike is committed to preserving our quality of life and retaining the history and traditions of Imperial County making it a better and safer place to live for generations to come. He will strive to protect Imperial County resources including our water, farmland, air quality, environment, education, health, recreation and our citizens by addressing all issues with a fair, honest and balanced approach.

 

Karla Flores

Benny Benavidez

District 2 Representative – Supervisor Luis A. Plancarte

Mr. Benavidez started his career at Imperial County Probation as a Juvenile Hall Officer in the 1970’s. In the 80’s, he transitioned to the services of Probation Officer and worked investigations and supervision. In the 1990’s, Mr. Benavidez transferred his knowledge to the Department of Corrections. He quickly went up the ranks and concluded his career with that agency in 2011 as the Parole Administrator. Mr. Benavidez returned to the Imperial County Probation Department as Chief PO until his retirement in November 2014. In 2015, he began his appointment to the local Behavioral Health Advisory Board.

In 2017, Mr. Benavidez was appointed to the CALBHBC Governing Board of Directors and is currently serving as the president. Mr. Benavidez possesses a degree in Criminal Justice Administration from San Diego State University and is currently a Correctional Science instructor for Imperial Valley College. He has been married for 42 years and is father to two wonderful children, who also follow in the family tradition of public service.

Civic Involvement: Imperial County Mental Health Board (Chair); Imperial County Community Correctional Partnership (Past Chair), Juvenile Justice Committee, Juvenile Justice Joint Community Partnership, I.C. Chief of Police Association, California Chief Probation Officer Association, Regional Director for American Probation and Parole Association, San Diego Gang Commission, San Diego Prisoner Reentry Roundtable and more.

 

Carlos Acuña

District 2 Representative- Supervisor Luis A. Plancarte

Mr. Acuna resides in El Centro. He is a valley native, born in Calexico. He is married to Rosario Acuña, a retired elementary school teacher, and they have two adult children, Christian and Karysse. He graduated from the University of Arizona, Tucson, with a degree in Secondary Education, Emphasis in English and from Western State University, College of Law, in San Diego. In 2022, he retired from the practice of law. He was appointed to and served for nine years as trustee on, the Imperial Valley College Board of Trustees representing the El Centro School District, Area 2. He also served on the Imperial Irrigation District’s Local Entity that established criteria to determine which parties in and around agriculture in the Imperial County were impacted by fallowing. He served as the Site Council parent representative for Wilson Junior High in El Centro. He worked as a deputy district attorney in the Imperial County District Attorney’s Office.

As an adjunct instructor, he taught a Criminology class at San Diego State University, Calexico campus. His hobbies include reading old school noir novels, sociology books, newspaper columns on international politics and economics on the www, watching classic films, and spending time with his immediate and extended family and dashing out the occasional poem.

 

Nancy Lee Rhodes

District 2 Representative- Supervisor Luis A. Plancarte

Mrs. Rhodes relocated to Imperial County 28 years ago with her husband and family with the sole purpose of starting the Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) program in Imperial County. In 1994, she started the non-profit agency CASA, as the Executive Director. CASA of Imperial County serves foster children in the dependency system. After fourteen years, Nancy retired from CASA and then within eighteen months found a rewarding volunteer job. She volunteered with the El Centro Police Department in their CIPS ( Community in Police Service) volunteer program for seven years. She and her husband started a non-profit organization called BBiUganda in 2012, which supports and assists the poor in Uganda. Mrs, Rhodes has served on the Behavioral Health Advisory Board since 2000.

Currently Vacant

Nicole Castañeda

District 4 Representative – Supervisor Ryan E. Kelley

Ms. Castañeda was born and raised in Brawley, CA, where she resides with her husband and daughter. Ms. Castañeda has been a full-time employee of Pioneers Memorial Hospital since 2001. She graduated from Imperial Valley College in 2003 with her associate in nursing and went on to receive her Bachelor of Science Degree in Nursing from the University of Phoenix. Ms. Castañeda is currently a graduate student at Walden University.

Felipe Irigoyen

District 5 – Supervisor John Hawk

Mr. Irigoyen is a graduate of Loyola Marymount University with a degree in Business Administration. He owns and operates an agribusiness company. He has two children Susana and Analise. He is currently Chairman of the Imperial County Economic Development Commission. He is an active member of the Imperial County Sheriffs Aero Squadron, being its commander for 7 years. He is past president and an active member of Rotary in addition to being a Paul Harris Fellow contributing to the Rotary foundation. He believes in giving back and the importance of serving the wellbeing of the Imperial Valley community and is actively involved in programs that support our youth and development of Imperial Valley. He was appointed to the Behavioral Health Advisory Board in June 2024.

Contact Us

For inquiries, please call
442-265-1525 or
1-800-817-5292

Emergency Services

IC Behavioral Health Crisis
1-800-817-5292

Center For Family Solutions
(760) 353-8530

Child Protective Services
(760) 337-7500

SURE 24-Hour Helpline
(760) 352-7873

Rape Crisis Center
(760) 352-7273

National Suicide
Prevention Lifeline

1 (800) 273-8255

Copyright © 2024 County of Imperial

​Imperial County Behavioral Health Services provides equal care to all individuals seeking and receiving services, regardless of: Age, Race, Ethnicity, Physical Ability/Attributes, Religion, Sexual Orientation, Gender Identity or Gender Expression.

El Departamento de Salud Mental del Condado de Imperial proporciona el mismo cuidado a todos los individuos que buscan y reciben servicios, sin tener en cuenta: Edad, Raza, Grupo Étnico, Capacidad Física, Atributos Físicos, Religión, Orientación Sexual, Identidad de Género o Expresión de Género.

Officina Administrativa de Imperial County Behavioral Health Services

202 N. 8th Street, El Centro, CA 92243
(442) 265-1525 or 1-800-817-5292

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