Population Health Management: Local Planning Technical Assistance Program
Community Health Planning Technical Assistance
Communities throughout California are working together to improve health outcomes and address local health needs.
DHCS and the California Department of Public Health (CDPH) provide free training, tools, and resources to help Medi-Cal managed care plans, local health jurisdictions, and county behavioral health plans collaborate on community health improvement efforts.
Technical assistance is available through June 2029.
Как это работает
The technical assistance program helps partners:
- Identify community needs and priorities.
- Gather input from community members and partners.
- Coordinate strategies and investments across public health, behavioral health, and managed care.
- Address health disparities and advance health equity.
- Improve health outcomes.
Who Is This For?
This program supports:
- Medi-Cal Managed Care Plans (MCP)
- Local Health Jurisdictions (LHJ)
- County Behavioral Health Plans (BHP)
- Other community health partners involved in local planning efforts
Доступные ресурсы
Participants can access:
- Live and recorded webinars
- Statewide convenings
- Regional learning sessions
- Planning tools and templates
- Resource libraries
- Peer learning opportunities
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Subscribe to the Population Health Management: Local Planning Technical Assistance Program newsletter to receive notifications regarding upcoming webinars, regional convenings, behavioral health peer-learning collaboratives, and new online resources. Please broadly share this link with your colleagues.
Link to MailChimp Sign-Up Form
Оставайтесь на связи
Check this page for program updates, resources, events, and training opportunities.
Questions or comments?
- Online Form: Click here to share your questions or feedback.
- Email: PHMSection@dhcs.ca.gov.
Часто задаваемые вопросы
What is local planning?
Local planning is the forum for coordination across Community Health Assessments (CHA), Community Health Improvement Plans (CHIP), PHM activities, Behavioral Health Services Act (BHSA) Integrated Plans, and related community assessment and planning efforts. Its purpose is to foster shared understanding, reduce fragmentation, strengthen collective impact, and support coordinated investments and interventions, while preserving each partner’s distinct statutory responsibilities, accountability structures, and decision-making authority.
What is the local planning framework?
The CHA and CHIP serve as the local planning framework through which LHJs, MCPs, and BHPs each participate to fulfill its own statutory, regulatory, and programmatic requirements to improve population health and health equity outcomes:
- LHJ: Leads the development and implementation of the CHA and CHIP process that establishes the population health priorities that informs the identification and selection of complementary and coordinated upstream strategies, investments, and interventions across delivery systems. (See the CDPH – Memo to LHJ re – Alignment of MCP PNA and LHJ CHA and CHIP)
- MCP: Meaningfully participates in the CHA and CHIP process that corresponds to the communities it serves by contributing data, expertise, funding, and other resources to fulfill PHM requirements and/or PHM strategies, inform Community Reinvestment activities, and align managed care strategies with identified community needs. (See the DHCS – PHM Policy Guide Updated January 2026)
- BHP: Considers findings from the CHA to inform behavioral health priorities and participates with the LHJ and other local partners in developing the CHIP, contributing behavioral health data, community needs, and stakeholder perspectives. Applies local planning findings to develop and implement BHSA Integrated Plans and other behavioral health planning priorities. (See the DHCS BHSA Manual Section B.2.1)
Why are local health entities required to align their planning?
Aligning local planning across public health, managed care, and behavioral health creates several key benefits for local partners and communities:
- Streamlines Local Effort: Reduces duplication, redundancy, and community survey fatigue.
- Optimizes Resources: Enables strategic, efficient, and effective use of shared funding and resources.
- Integrates Data: Combines previously siloed data streams into a cohesive picture of community health and improvement opportunities.
- Builds Public Trust: Establishes greater trust with the community through improved clarity and collective action.
- Drives Upstream Prevention: Focuses interventions on addressing the social drivers of health and root causes of health disparities.
What is the timeline for aligned local planning?
California is working towards a statewide unified or synchronized 3-year cycle starting 2028: CHA and CHIP submissions will become mandatory for all LHJs under a standardized three-year cycle. This timeline is intentionally synchronized to inform Behavioral Health Transformation (BHT) Integrated Planning cycles and simplify Population Needs Assessment (PNA) policy compliance for MCPs operating across multiple county jurisdictions.
How does Local Planning connect to CalAIM, PHM, and BHSA?
- Population Health Management (PHM): As a cornerstone of CalAIM, PHM requires MCPs to achieve NCQA Health Plan Accreditation and NCQA Health Equity Accreditation by January 1, 2026, using CHA/CHIP findings to drive data-driven risk stratification, care management, and Transitional Care Services (TCS). (See the DHCS PHM Strategy & Roadmap)
- Medi-Cal Connect: DHCS is launching a statewide PHM Service (Medi-Cal Connect) to provide stakeholders with secure data access to members’ medical, behavioral, dental, and social service histories.
- Behavioral Health Services Act (BHSA): Requires county behavioral health departments to collaborate with LHJs on CHIP development and consider local CHAs when preparing their County Integrated Plans. (See the DHCS BHSA Manual)
- Community Reinvestment Policy: Directs MCPs to reinvest a portion of net income into local communities, aligning investments directly with priorities identified in local CHA/CHIPs. (See the DHCS APL 25-004: Community Reinvestment Policy)