California Earmarks Billions for Mental Health and Housing Support
SACRAMENTO — Gov. Gavin Newsom May 12 announced $3.3 billion in grant funding to create over 5,000 residential treatment beds and more than 21,800 outpatient treatment slots for behavioral health care services and will build upon other major behavioral health initiatives in California. Administered by the California Department of Health Care Services or DHCS, the Proposition 1 Bond Behavioral Health Continuum Infrastructure Program or BHCIP Round 1: Launch Ready awards will significantly expand access to care for Californians experiencing mental health conditions and substance use disorders, including those experiencing homelessness.
Today’s awardees can be found HERE.
When fully awarded, funding from Proposition 1 bonds is estimated to create 6,800 residential treatment beds and 26,700 outpatient treatment slots for behavioral health and will build on other major behavioral health initiatives in California.
The Bond BHCIP Round 1 awards will help to create a comprehensive behavioral health system, ensuring that individuals can access the right care at the right time, whether it be for crisis stabilization, inpatient care, or long-term treatment. As part of the state’s goal to reduce mental health crises, increase the availability of services, and support community-based solutions, these investments are vital in ensuring the long-term sustainability and accessibility of behavioral health services.
Through BHCIP, DHCS has competitively awarded grants to construct, acquire, and expand properties and invest in mobile crisis infrastructure for behavioral health. Proposition 1, passed in March 2024, increases funding opportunities to expand BHCIP to serve even more Californians with mental health and substance use disorders through infrastructure development.
California’s Mental Health for All initiative is modernizing the behavioral health delivery system to improve accountability, increase transparency, and expand the capacity of behavioral health care facilities. BHCIP supports the creation, renovation, and expansion of facilities that serve individuals with mental health and substance use disorder needs, with a focus on crisis care, residential treatment, and outpatient services. DHCS has already awarded $1.7 billion in BHCIP competitive grants.
There is a 7,000-plus behavioral health bed shortfall in California, contributing to unmet needs among people experiencing homelessness who have mental illness and/or substance use disorders. Bond BHCIP funding is estimated to create 6,800 residential treatment beds and 26,700 outpatient treatment slots for behavioral health and will build upon other major behavioral health initiatives in California. This investment will help address the behavioral health bed shortfall.
Today’s announcement represents the first of two Bond BHCIP funding rounds. The second round, Bond BHCIP Round 2: Unmet Needs, will provide over $800 million in competitive funding awards for behavioral health treatment facilities and is open to all entities. Interested entities are encouraged to apply after the Round 2 Request for Applications goes live as soon as later this month.
Additionally, the Department of Housing and Community Development or HCD will oversee up to $2 billion in Proposition 1 funds to build permanent supportive housing for veterans and others who are homeless or at risk of homelessness and have mental health or substance use disorder challenges.
For more information about Bond BHCIP Round 1: Launch Ready, please visit the BHCIP website. Additional guidance on Bond BHCIP Round 1: Launch Ready and Round 2: Unmet Needs is available here. Visit the Behavioral Health Transformation webpage for updates and resources, including recordings of regular public listening sessions.
Gov. Newsom Announces Appointments
SACRAMENTO – Gov. Gavin Newsom May 8 announced the following appointments.
Joshua Perttula, of Santa Monica, has been appointed to the University of California College of the Law, San Francisco board of directors. Perttula has been a managing partner of Kirra Consulting and the founder and managing partner of Abington Emerson Investments, LLC since 2009. He was executive vice president of ACC Capital Holdings from 2005 to 2008. Perttula was special assistant city attorney for the City of Los Angeles from 2001 to 2004. He was an associate attorney at Buchalter Law Firm from 1998 to 2000. Perttula was deputy director of scheduling and advance at the United States Department of Education from 1994 to 1995. He earned a Juris Doctor degree from the University of California College of the Law, San Francisco and Bachelor of Arts degrees in Economics and Political Science from the University of California, Irvine. This position requires Senate confirmation, and there is no compensation. Perttula is a Democrat.