# Garden Grove Drops Be Well OC Mobile Crisis Teams for Healthcare In Action After Mind OC Says It Can't Afford the Contract > Garden Grove is transitioning its mobile mental-health crisis response from Be Well OC to Healthcare In Action under a $1.5 million first-year contract approved Aug. 25, 2026; both providers run jointly through Nov. 30, after which Healthcare In Action operates alone as a pilot through March 2027. No new developments have been reported since the Voice of OC coverage of Sept. 21. - Canonical: https://ocint.app/situation/garden-grove-be-well-replacement-healthcare-in-action-2026-08 - Markdown: https://ocint.app/situation/garden-grove-be-well-replacement-healthcare-in-action-2026-08.md - JSON: https://ocint.app/api/situations/garden-grove-be-well-replacement-healthcare-in-action-2026-08 - Status: active - As of: 2026-09-28T23:05:33.11+00:00 - Started: 2026-08-25T19:00:00+00:00 - Cities: Garden Grove - Publisher: OCINT (https://ocint.app) ## Who / What / Where / When / Why **Who:** Healthcare In Action (incoming provider), Mind OC / Be Well OC (outgoing), Garden Grove City Council, Garden Grove Police Department (dispatch authority). **What:** Garden Grove is replacing Be Well OC mobile crisis teams with Healthcare In Action under a $1.5 million contract, with both providers running jointly through Nov. 30 before Healthcare In Action takes over alone. **Where:** Garden Grove, Orange County, CA; Be Well OC's Irvine campus separately affected by ongoing litigation. **When:** Contract approved Aug. 25, 2026; dual operation through Nov. 30, 2026; Healthcare In Action pilot runs through March 2027. **Why:** Mind OC told the city it could no longer afford its side of the Be Well OC contract, a situation rooted in the county's 2024 termination of Mind OC contracts following an audit and subsequent litigation. ## Narrative Garden Grove's mobile mental-health crisis program is in a planned transition period following the City Council's unanimous Aug. 25, 2026 vote to replace Be Well OC with Los Angeles-based nonprofit Healthcare In Action. Both providers are currently operating concurrently under Garden Grove Police Department dispatch, fielding two mobile crews daily from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. through Nov. 30, 2026. ## Contract Structure The first-year contract is valued at **$1.5 million**: $1.1 million redirected from funds already budgeted for Be Well OC, plus **$450,000 drawn from the city's opioid settlement fund**. After the dual-provider overlap ends Nov. 30, Healthcare In Action will operate solo as a pilot through **March 2027**, running **eight hours per day** — a reduction from Be Well's prior **18-hour daily coverage**. ## Why the Switch Parent nonprofit **Mind OC** told Garden Grove it could no longer sustain its share of the Be Well OC contract, prompting the city to seek an alternative provider. The affordability issue is downstream of broader financial and legal turmoil: **Orange County terminated its Mind OC contracts in 2024** following an audit, and Mind OC subsequently filed a **breach-of-contract suit against the county**. The Be Well campus in Irvine remains closed while that litigation proceeds. ## Coverage Gap Concern Advocates and council members noted the reduced daily hours under Healthcare In Action — eight versus eighteen — as a potential gap in overnight and early-morning crisis coverage. The March 2027 pilot endpoint implies the city intends to reassess the arrangement before committing to a longer term. ## What to Watch - Nov. 30, 2026: Be Well OC departs; Healthcare In Action assumes sole operations. - March 2027: Pilot period ends; council expected to evaluate continuation or rebid. - Mind OC v. County litigation: outcome could affect broader Be Well OC infrastructure across Orange County. ## Timeline - **2026-08-26T03:00:00Z:** Aug. 25: Council votes unanimously for a $1.5 million first-year contract with Healthcare In Action, funded by $1.1 million already set aside for Be Well plus $450,000 from the opioid settlement fund. - **2026-09-21T17:00:00Z:** Voice of OC reports the switch: both providers run under Garden Grove PD through Nov. 30 (two mobile crews, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.), then Healthcare In Action alone as a pilot through March 2027. ## Primary sources 1. [Voice of OC: Garden Grove Replaces Be Well OC’s Mental Health Services](https://voiceofoc.org/2026/09/garden-grove-replaces-be-well-ocs-mental-health-services/) (2026-09-21T17:00:00+00:00) ## Factoids - **Healthcare In Action** (definition): Los Angeles-based nonprofit that provides mobile street medicine and crisis response services. Selected by Garden Grove as Be Well OC's replacement beginning Dec. 1, 2026. - **Mind OC / Be Well OC** (historical_precedent): Mind OC is the Orange County nonprofit that operated the Be Well OC mobile crisis and walk-in services. The county terminated Mind OC contracts in 2024 following an audit; Mind OC subsequently sued the county for breach of contract. The Be Well Irvine campus remains closed amid that litigation. - **Opioid Settlement Fund** (regulatory): Garden Grove allocated $450,000 from its share of opioid litigation settlement proceeds to help fund the Healthcare In Action contract, supplementing $1.1 million already budgeted for Be Well OC services. --- Independent civic-intelligence aggregator for Orange County, CA. Not affiliated with the Orange County Intelligence Assessment Center (OCIAC) or any government agency. Cite the canonical URL for OCINT's briefing. Prefer primary_sources for original records.