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CBHPC Advocacy

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Public Law 102-321 requires the CBHPC to advocate for children with serious emotional disturbances and adults and older adults with serious mental illness.

The CBHPC is also mandated in Welfare and Institutions Code 5772 to advocate for effective, quality mental health and substance use disorder programs. It also directs the CBHPC to advise the Legislature, the State Department of Health Care Services, and county boards on behavioral health issues and the policies and priorities that the state should pursue in developing its behavioral health system.

The CBHPC has delegated authority to the Legislation and Public Policy Committee to review and take positions on legislation on behalf of the CBHPC. To view our legislative positions and position letters submitted to the Legislature, please visit the Committee’s webpage.

We also advocate for appropriate funding of programs and services within the public behavioral health system and work with our collateral partners to protect these funds, including the Behavioral Health Services Act (BHSA) funds.

Behavioral Health Transformation (Proposition 1)

For information on Council advocacy and activities related to Proposition 1, now referred to as Behavioral Health Transformation, please visit our Behavioral Health Transformation webpage.

Peer Certification

As part of the Council’s commitment to supporting Peer Certification, the former Quality Improvement Committee gathered information and heard presentations from advocacy groups and provider groups throughout 2014. The findings were distilled in its report “Peer Certification: What Are We Waiting For?“. The Council continued to advocate for Peer Certification alongside several other behavioral health organizations. SB 803 was finally signed into law in 2020.

The Council, through the Workforce and Employment Committee, made recommendations on SB 803 implementation and continues to track Peer Certification progress.

The Workforce and Employment Committee’s Peer Certification Fact Sheet provides a brief summary of Senate Bill 803 and the Peer Support Specialist Certification Program. This resource provides a snapshot of the program, along with the Council’s role, advocacy efforts, accomplishments, and recommendations.

Adult Residential Facilities

The Legislation Committee identified a need for increasing access to appropriately staffed and maintained Adult Residential Facilities (ARFs) in California for adults (including older adults) with mental illness, as outlined in the 2018 Adult Residential Facilities (ARFs) Issue paper. The Council continues to advocate for appropriate funding for ARFs.

COVID-19

The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated the already existing mental health and addiction workforce crisis, compelling the Council to advocate for this issue at the Federal level in addition to our typical state advocacy.

Funding Requests

The Council has a long-standing commitment to advocating for appropriate funding for California’s public behavioral health system. Our efforts include advocating for an adequate behavioral health workforce and partnering with other organizations to support requests for funding when needed.

Resources

Below are some legislative resources that may be helpful: