May 14, 2021
Governor’s May Revision Budget Represents the Single Largest State General Fund Investment in Behavioral Health in California History
Reflects Administration’s Understanding of the Importance of Supporting Californians’ Mental Health and Substance Use Disorder Needs as Integral to California’s Comeback
Sacramento, CA – Between workforce and brick-and-mortar proposals announced today, the Newsom Administration is almost doubling its investment in building up the capacity of the public behavioral health safety net. California county behavioral directors praised Governor Newsom’s proposal for historic investments in the mental health and substance use disorder services run by counites which are integral to California’s statewide recovery from the pandemic.
“California county behavioral health, our workforce, and the people we serve have been through so much already with the pandemic,” said Dr. Veronica Kelley, Director of San Bernardino County’s Department of Behavioral Health and President of the County Behavioral Health Directors Association of California.
“Governor Newsom’s budget proposal shows that our state understands how critical it is for us to invest in behavioral health in order for California to fully recover from the events of the past year and be prepared to meet the ongoing surge of need for mental health and substance use disorder services,” said Kelley. “With the historic investments proposed, counties will be able to build out brick-and-mortar capacity, coupled with workforce investment dollars, to address systemic gaps left by decades of underinvestment, leading to better and more accessible services for clients of all ages and levels of need.”
The Governor’s 2021-22 fiscal year budget proposal makes investments of historic proportions, including:
$2.45 billion for building out additional brick-and-mortar capacity in our public behavioral health safety net.
An ambitious, $4 billion investment in behavioral health services for children and youth, including:
$950 million to build out school-based behavioral health services.
A $430 million investment in the behavioral health workforce.
$430 million for expansion of evidence-based programs such as early psychosis programs and youth drop-in wellness center models currently being piloted by counties throughout California.
Expanded funding for the state’s Medi-Cal behavioral health transformation initiatives under CalAIM.
The Governor’s budget proposal comes when Californians are coping with multiple, overlapping crises with behavioral health impacts. A February Kaiser Family Foundation poll found 4 in 10 adults nationwide reported symptoms of “anxiety or depressive disorder, a four-fold increase from pre-pandemic levels.” Among Black and Latino adults, that number rose to nearly 5 in 10. In a 2020 Centers for Disease Control and Prevention survey, 18% of American adults said they had turned to substance use to deal with COVID-19 related stress. According to national data from the CDC, from March through October 2020, the share of mental health-related hospital emergency department visits rose 24% for children ages 5 to 11 and 31% among adolescents ages 12 to 17, when compared to the same period in 2019.
“Investing in Californians’ behavioral health is investing in our state’s recovery. Resources to expand the capacity of our county behavioral health safety net come at a pivotal time to support behavioral health clients returning to work, school, and life in the community,” said Michelle Doty Cabrera, Executive Director of the County Behavioral Health Directors Association of California.
“As we build out the physical spaces to provide a range of behavioral health care services, counties will be uniquely positioned to serve those children, youth, and adults with significant behavioral health needs intensified over the course of the last year. This is a once-in-a generation opportunity to completely reimagine how we, as a state, prioritize behavioral health for all Californians.”