Re: Fully Realizing the Promise of BHSA Community Planning and Local Behavioral Health Advisory Board Oversight Dear Behavioral Health Services Leadership: California’s transition from the Mental Health Services Act to the Behavioral Health Services Act provides counties with an extraordinary opportunity to reconsider not simply what behavioral health services we fund, but how we plan, evaluate, improve, and make decisions…
BHABrehab California
The Commission for Behavioral Health (CBH) released the Community Planning Process (CPP) Community Partner Toolkit today. This toolkit can be used by local behavioral health systems, the Behavioral Health Services Act (BHSA) Advisory Board, and community stakeholders serving people experiencing behavioral health challenges. This year, the timeline is tight. Counties must submit their draft BHSA Integrated Plan (IP) to the…
In all honesty, I’m near my wits’ end. After working tirelessly to contribute to our local San Diego County Behavioral Health System (BHS) through various collaboration opportunities and through our state-mandated Behavioral Health Advisory Board (BHAB), I wonder if it will take another decade to see meaningful change. A county BHAB is a community body tasked with keeping our Board…
This map was created to illustrate the wide range of planning entities and elements within San Diego County. This is a draft, and as such, may have inaccurate entities, associations, or references. Please provide any feedback and make any recommendations you like. Helping us understand the complexity of the planning cycle now, will help facilitate a more informed stakeholder community,…
This public comment was submitted by this author to the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) as they develop the BHSA County Policy Manual. April 23, 2025 Behavioral Health Services Act County Policy Manual Module 3 Version 1 – Draft for Public Comment A public comment submitted by Jerry Hall, BHABrehab.com. Thank you for the opportunity to comment on the…
Here is an open letter which I will present at the San Diego County Behavioral Health Advisory Board (BHAB) at their Annual Retreat. As one will read throughout this website, there are many things a BHAB ‘should’ be doing, and then there is what they are actually doing. I argue the most important thing they should be doing is assuring…
Per my public comment at the FY2024-25 Mental Health Services Act Public Hearing held yesterday, I summarized my comment here, which ideally will included with other written comments in the final plan submitted to the state: My concern is that our Behavioral Health Advisory Board has not, in the past decade from my own experience, been provided an opportunity to…
This proposal was presented in 2023 with the intention of suggesting a structure that would allow the BHAB to meet its many obligations. Although it illustrates a significant structural shift, it nonetheless provides an opportunity for the BHAB to ensure our community is well served and their needs represented.
The most recent analysis of Revenue and Expenditures (RER) reports submitted by California counties and areas receiving MHSA Mental Health Funds reflects a common trend in not reporting Community Program Planning (CPP) process expenditures. For Fiscal Year 2021 to 2022, counties reported spending about $9m of the over $120m allowed to be spent on CPP activities. Why are counties required…
Public Comment: Race, Power, and Accusations
BHAB Duties, MHSA & Law and Public Comment & Feedback
Below is the full version of a letter being sent today to the BHAB, Behavioral Health Services (BHS), and Board of Supervisors, written as a public comment for today’s BHAB Executive Committee meeting, but it could not be presented due to the meeting being canceled as a result of a lack of quorum. [Revisions are indicated as a ‘Note:’ and…