About Behavioral Health
An estimated 7.5 million people in California experience a mental health disorder in any given year, but only one-third of adults who experience mental illness are getting treatment due to a lack of behavioral health care workers. Despite major improvements in health care coverage over the past decade, substantial discrepancies persist in available behavioral health care among commercial health plans and public programs. For this reason, many people experiencing mental health crises frequently turn to hospital emergency departments for treatment, and this number is increasing. From 2011 to 2020, there was a 68% increase. Caregivers at hospitals know the obstacles people with behavioral health conditions face and the challenges in getting them treatment and embrace the essential role they play in helping those in crisis. Strategies must mirror those in primary health care where the goal is prevention and early intervention, along with offering a continuum of services that will help Californians with behavioral health needs avoid acute care, hospitalization, incarceration, conservatorships, and institutionalization.
Two Funding Opportunities Available for Hospitals
Hospitals are eligible to apply for two behavioral health funding opportunities.
2022 Behavioral Health Care Symposium
CHA has designed its 2022 Behavioral Health Symposium as an opportunity for California’s hospital leaders to catch up on recent investments and policy changes, as well as hear from experts on the latest cutting-edge treatment options for mental illness and substance use disorders.
State Budget Takes a Wide Variety of Health Care-Related Actions
In June 2022, the Legislature and governor approved a $308 billion budget for the state fiscal year spanning from July 2022 through June 2023. In late August, the Legislature passed and the governor is expected to approve revisions to the 2022-23 Budget Act, which generally redirect, build upon, or provide statutory parameters around actions previously […]
Apply Now for Behavioral Health Grant Program for Children and Youth
In case you missed it, the California Department of Health Care Services is now accepting applications for its Behavioral Health Continuum Infrastructure Program Round 4: Children and Youth grant.
Applications Being Accepted for Behavioral Health Grant Program
The California Department of Health Care Services is accepting applications for its Behavioral Health Continuum Infrastructure Program Round 4: Children and Youth grant. Applications are due no later than Aug. 31 at 5 p.m. (PT).
CalBridge Program Accepting Applications on An Ongoing Basis
In July, the CalBridge Behavioral Health Navigator Program announced the latest list of over 80 California hospitals to receive over $9 million in grants. The grants support emergency departments (EDs) becoming primary access points for the treatment of substance use disorders and co-occurring mental health conditions.
Registration Open for NAMI California Annual Conference
The National Alliance on Mental Illness California will hold its annual conference in Newport Beach on Aug. 25-26.
Active Threat Prevention and Response
Hospitals Are Resilient, Not Invincible
There’s a widely held misconception about California’s hospitals that their proven resilience in the face of challenges over decades upon decades means they can withstand anything thrown their way.
988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline Launches
Last week, the Federal Communications Commission adopted rules that established 988 as the nationwide three-digit phone number to connect Americans in crisis with suicide prevention and mental health crisis counselors at the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline.