January 10, 2022

State-County Partnership Needed to Strengthen Behavioral Health in Face of Triple Pandemic

Sacramento, CA – The County Behavioral Health Directors’ Association of California (CBHDA) released the following statement from Executive Director Michelle Doty Cabrera on Governor Newsom’s 2022-23 fiscal year budget proposal:

“County behavioral health departments are up against many of the same challenges facing the rest of the nation: individuals and communities reeling from the behavioral health crises triggered by the devastation of the global pandemic; a relentless surge in COVID-19 cases is making our clients and our workforce sick; and an exodus of workers attracted by competition and soaring private sector salaries. The resilience we will need to tackle the pandemic, homelessness, and the opioid public health crises will require a strong state-county behavioral health partnership.

“Governor Newsom said that our community mental health system has been starved for funding for generations, and we see that that understanding reflected in the renewed investment and focus on our public behavioral health safety net in this year’s budget. The Newsom Administration stands apart in its ongoing commitment to behavioral health over multiple budgets, and for that we are grateful.

“In particular, county behavioral health directors applaud the Newsom Administration’s proposal to cover all income-eligible Californians in Medi-Cal, regardless of immigration status. Expanded access to mental health and substance use disorder services for all Californians is an investment in the wellbeing of generations to come.

“The Governor’s budget also proposes a major investment of $1.5 billion into housing solutions targeted at individuals with mental health and substance use disorder service needs, as well as state funding for a new mobile crisis services benefit in Medi-Cal. These are examples of an extraordinary degree of commitment to our state’s behavioral health safety net.

“As part of the proposed budget’s significant $1.7 billion investment in the health and human services workforce, the Governor proposes to invest $120 million into psychiatric residencies and $26 million to build out the substance use disorder workforce in light of the ongoing opioid epidemic. The magnitude of the workforce impacts on the public behavioral health system resulting from the pandemic and related need cannot be understated.

“As the Omicron variant sweeps through California at an alarming rate, access to ongoing workforce investments, as well as testing is a critical priority for county behavioral health workers and our clients. We welcome additional details on the Administration’s proposal to surge additional resources into COVID response with an eye toward the critical role of the public behavioral health delivery system in supporting the needs of Californians in crisis. 

“This budget presents a blueprint we can build from, including crucial core behavioral health infrastructure, expanded workforce investments, and public awareness funding to educate our state about the devastation of the fentanyl opioid crisis for youth. These are welcome and necessary investments to address some of our most pressing health, social, and community needs and we look forward to continued partnership to shape these proposals and bring these programs to local communities.”