1. How is the Behavioral Health Services Act different from the Mental Health Services Act when it comes to supporting the housing needs of eligible individuals?
Housing is an essential component of behavioral health treatment, recovery, and stability. Thirty percent of each county’s Behavioral Health Services Act funding allocation
must be used for housing interventions for Californians with the most significant behavioral health needs who are homeless or at risk of homelessness. Half of that amount is prioritized for individuals and families experiencing long-term homelessness. The Behavioral Health Services Act provides ongoing revenue for counties to assist people with severe behavioral health needs with housing and provides a path to long-term recovery, including ongoing capital to build more housing options. Additionally, more than 11,150 new behavioral health treatment beds and supportive housing units will be funded for people experiencing or at risk of homelessness and who have behavioral health needs, with a dedicated housing investment to serve veterans.
Per Proposition 1, 30 percent of county Behavioral Health Services Act allocations each year will include housing supports. Based on projections for Fiscal Year (FY) 2026-2027, the total annual statewide housing component will be approximately $950 million (see Question 6).
2. Which housing assistance, supports, and capital development costs can county behavioral health departments use from current Mental Health Services Act funds?
Summary: There is a high degree of flexibility in how county behavioral health departments can currently use Mental Health Services Act funds for housing and housing supports to meet the needs of people who have behavioral health conditions and who are experiencing or at risk of homelessness. The Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) estimates that in FY 2022-2023, about $286 million in Mental Health Services Act funds were used to provide housing or housing supports (see detail below).
Detail: Several parts of the Mental Health Services Act can be used for housing in a county’s 2023-26 plan, including:
- Community Services and Supports (CSS)
- Full Service Partnership (FSP)
- General System Development (GSD)
- Outreach and Engagement
- Housing Assistance
- Mental Health Services Act Housing Program
- No Place Like Home (NPLH)
- Prevention and Early Intervention
- Innovation Funds
- Capital Facility & Technological Needs (CFTN)
This table provides an
estimate of Mental Health Services Act funds used to provide housing or housing supports. This estimate was developed based on the FY 2022-23 Annual Revenue and Expenditure Report or the most recent data available.
Revenue Expenditure Report Housing Program/NPLH
| $8,745,679 |
| CFTN - Capital Facilities | $23,147,650 |
| CSS FSP (Housing, GSD, Homeless) | $120,803,356 |
CSS Non-FSP (Housing, GSD, Homeless)
| $133,588,183 |
|
Grand Total |
$286,284,868 |
3. Who is eligible for Mental Health Services Act housing funding?
Mental Health Services Act-funded services and assistance are available to people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness, and who are also suffering from serious mental illness. Individuals who meet Mental Health Services Act eligibility can receive housing services under CSS within FSPs, GSD, and Outreach and Engagement. Housing services are also available under Prevention and Early Intervention as well as Innovation. As noted in Table 1 above, most individuals who receive housing services under the Mental Health Services Act are under CSS.
4. What kind of housing supports will county behavioral health departments be able to use from the Behavioral Health Services Act beginning on July 1, 2026?
Housing supports eligible for funding under the Behavioral Health Services Act are broad to help support the range of needs and help provide stable housing – in coordination with care – to improve health outcomes for target populations.
- Housing interventions may include:
- Rental subsidies
- Operating subsidies
- Shared housing (including recovery housing)
- Family housing
- Non-federal share for
Medi-Cal transitional rent
- Other housing supports as defined by DHCS, including, but not limited to, the
Community Supports policy guide
- Capital development projects
- Project-based housing assistance, including master leasing
- Capital: Counties can use up to 25 percent of the 30 percent (i.e., 7.5 percent of the total) for housing intervention to support capital development of housing to serve the eligible population.
[Note: County behavioral health departments may not use Behavioral Health Services Act funds for housing interventions that are covered by a Medi-Cal managed care plan, per Welfare and Institutions Code (WIC) 5830(c)(2).]
5. Who will be eligible for Behavioral Health Services Act housing intervention? (Any change from the Mental Health Services Act?)
Summary: The populations eligible for Behavioral Health Services Act housing intervention funding includes children, youth, adults, and older adults and does not change significantly from the Mental Health Services Act, except for the addition of individuals with a substance use disorder, who may now be served under the Behavioral Health Services Act. However, the Behavioral Health Services Act advances a focus on those who have complex care needs and requires that 50 percent of housing intervention funds be used to serve people who are chronically homeless.
Detail:
- Behavioral Health Services Act eligibility criteria:
- Eligible children and youth are defined in WIC Section 5892(k)(7) as 25 years of age or younger and either:
- Meets the medical necessity criteria set forth in WIC 14184.402(d), or
- Has a moderate or severe substance use disorder (5891.5(c)).
- Eligible adults and older adults are defined in WIC Section 5892(k)(8) as 26 years of age or older and either:
- Meets the criteria set forth in WIC 14184.402(c), or
- Has a moderate or severe substance use disorder (5891.5(c)).
-
Behavioral Health Services Act housing interventions criteria:
- According to WIC Section 5830 (a) (1), each county shall establish and administer a program for housing interventions to serve persons who are chronically homeless or experiencing homelessness or are at risk of homelessness, as defined in Section 5892, and meet one of the following Behavioral Health Services Act eligibility criteria:
- Eligible children and youth, as defined in Section 5892(k)(7) as 25 years of age or younger and either:
- Meets the medical necessity criteria set forth in WIC 14184.402(d), or
- Has a moderate or severe substance use disorder (5891.5(c)).
- Eligible adults and older adults, as defined in Section 5892(k)(8) as 26 years of age or older and either:
- Meets the criteria set forth in WIC 14184.402(c), or
- Has a moderate or severe substance use disorder (5891.5(c))
- 50 percent shall be used for housing interventions for persons who are chronically homeless, with a focus on those in encampments.
6. How much Behavioral Health Services Act money will be available for housing supports beginning on July 1, 2026?
Per Proposition 1, 30 percent of county Behavioral Health Services Act allocations each year are for housing supports. Based on a projection of $3.5 billion total Behavioral Health Services Act revenue for FY 2026-2027, county allocations for the housing component will be approximately $950 million. Based on the current Mental Health Services Act allocation methodology outlined in
Behavioral Health Information Notice No: 23-061, which determines the percentage of Mental Health Services Act funds received annually by each county, projected annual Behavioral Health Services Act allocations for housing interventions are:
- Very Large: Los Angeles $254.09 million
- Large: Sacramento, $34.99 million
- Medium: Santa Cruz $6.79 million
- Small: Humboldt $3.3 million
In addition, to allow counties to address their different local needs and priorities, counties may transfer funding to increase this component up to an additional 14 percent or decrease funding up to 7 percent by transferring funding between the two other Behavioral Health Services Act funding components (FSP and behavioral health services and supports).
For example, a county could decide to allocate 37 percent, instead of the required 30 percent, of Behavioral Health Services Act funds to housing interventions by transferring 7 percent from another Behavioral Health Services Act category, such as FSPs.
Additionally, a county could decide to allocate 23 percent, instead of the required 30 percent, of its Behavioral Health Services Act funds to housing interventions by transferring what amounts to 7 percent of its Behavioral Health Services Act allocation away from housing interventions to some other category.
Transfers are subject to DHCS approval and must be requested when the three-year Integrated Plan is submitted based on data and community input. The next cycle, and the first Behavioral Health Services Act cycle, is FY 2026-2029.
7. How much Behavioral Health Services Act money can be used for capital development beginning on July 1, 2026?
Up to 25 percent of the housing intervention funds (i.e., 7.5 percent of local funds) may be used for Capital Development projects. Based on the estimate outlined in question 6, approximately $950 million could be available for the entire bucket of housing interventions for FY 2026-2027. Assuming counties do not transfer funding into or out of the housing intervention category, up to $235.79 million could be used for housing capital development projects at the local level for individuals with behavioral health conditions. The total amount of housing intervention funds for capital development projects will ultimately be determined at the local level.
8. What other one-time state funds for homelessness have served people with behavioral health challenges that the ongoing Behavioral Health Services Act/Mental Health Services Act funds can also serve?
There are many one-time state-funded programs that have served individuals with behavioral health conditions. While these programs may not track the number or percent of participants who have behavioral health conditions, they have likely served many individuals who would be eligible to be served by Mental Health Services Act/Behavioral Health Services Act funds.
Broken out by department, the major one-time state funds for homelessness include:
-
California Department of Social Services: Housing and Disability Advocacy Program (HDAP); Home Safe; Bringing Families Home; CalWORKs Housing Support Program; Project Roomkey; and Community Care Expansion. (HDAP and CalWORKs are ongoing programs that had one time program expansions.)
-
Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD): Homekey; NPLH Program; Veterans Housing and Homelessness Prevention Program serving California veterans experiencing homelessness; Homelessness, Housing, Assistance, and Prevention; Encampment Resolution Funding; Family Homelessness Challenge Grants; Transitional Housing and Supplemental Program (THP and THP-SUP); Housing Navigators Maintenance Program (HNMP), which serves transitional-aged youth experiencing homelessness; and the Pet Assistance and Support Program (PAS), which provides funding to shelters to allow them to accommodate people with pets.
-
Department of Health Care Services: Behavioral Health Bridge Housing (through counties and tribal entities) provides funding to operate bridge housing settings to address the immediate housing needs of people experiencing homelessness who have a behavioral health condition. Housing and Homelessness Incentive Program (through Medi-Cal managed care plans) offers incentives to managed care plans for making investments and progress in addressing homelessness and keeping people housed.
-
CalVet: The Veteran Support to Self-Reliance Program provides enhanced supportive services to veterans age 55+/high acuity in project-based sites to support their ability to age in place and remain stably housed.
9. What other sources of funds can be used by counties for housing supports for persons with behavioral health challenges?
The state encourages local fund recipients to combine Mental Health Services Act/Behavioral Health Services Act funds with other local, state, federal, and philanthropic resources, including:
- Medi-Cal (through Medi-Cal managed care plans)
- County realignment (according to Title 3, Division 3, Chapter 6.3 of the Government Code)
- Bronzan-McCorquodale Act (1991 realignment) (according to Division 5, Part 2 of the Welfare and Institutions Code)
- Federal block grants (e.g., Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration)
- CalVet Mental Health Grant for County Veteran Service Officers
- Other housing and homelessness federal, state, and local funds
Here are some examples of other funding that can be combined with Mental Health Services Act/Behavioral Health Services Act funds to facilitate better health and housing outcomes:
- Capital funding for housing through the Behavioral Health Bond, part of Proposition 1
- Medi-Cal housing-related Community Supports, and if approved by the federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), transitional rent. In addition, the
Medi-Cal Enhanced Care Management benefit can help connect individuals with housing supports and services to improve health and housing outcomes
- Other behavioral health-focused federal, state, and local funds as allowable (see list above)
- Other housing and homelessness federal, state, and local funds, including the Homeless Housing, Assistance, and Prevention Program and funding from Public Housing Authorities
- Funding from philanthropic and private sources
[Note: County behavioral health departments may not use Behavioral Health Services Act funds for housing interventions that are covered by a Medi-Cal managed care plan, per WIC 5830(c)(2).]
10. Where can I get more information about counties' current investments and future planning for housing supports for people with behavioral health and housing needs?
- Counties' current three-year Mental Health Services Act program and expenditure plan
- County Boards of Supervisors, County Behavioral Health Director (responsible for Mental Health Services Act and Behavioral Health Services Act oversight), and county housing lead (Housing and Homeless funding)
- Other resources from state programs that can complement county plans for the Behavioral Health Services Act:
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