California’s mental health commission on Thursday announced its executive director would resign amid revelations that he traveled to the U.K. courtesy of a state vendor while he sought to prevent a budget cut that would have defunded the company’s contract.
Toby Ewing, executive director of the Mental Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission, will step down effective Nov. 22. Documents obtained by KFF Health News show that he tried in June to protect state funding for Kooth, a London-based digital mental health company with a contract to develop a virtual tool to help California tackle its youth mental health crisis.
He had been on paid administrative leave pending an investigation since September.
Ewing’s resignation was announced after a four-hour closed session of the mental health commission. During a public hearing before the announcement, advocates for mental health services accused the commission of favoring corporations over serving people with mental health and substance use issues.
The commission is an independent body charged with ensuring that funds from a millionaires tax are used appropriately by counties for mental health services.
“You are being co-opted by big corporations,” said Susan Gallagher, executive director of Cal Voices, a mental health advocacy organization, during Thursday’s meeting. “You’re lobbying behind the scenes for these people to get money. That is not your job. You serve the people.”
Ewing declined to comment.
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Kooth last year signed a four-year, $271 million contract with the Department of Health Care Services, which is separate from the commission, to create Soluna, a free menta …