Overview: The Commission for Behavioral Health (CBH) currently uses six advisory committees to increase efficiency and engagement with the public. The six committees are as follows:
- Budget and Fiscal Advisory (BFA)
- Legislative and External Affairs (LEX)
- Program (PAC)
- Workplace Optimization (WOAC)
- Client, Family, and Community Inclusion, Lived Experience, and Diversity (CFC)
- Strategic Plan (SP)
Several Commission meeting agenda items are reviewed in their respective committees, where they are discussed and voted on before being presented to the full Commission.
March 26 – Agenda Item #9 – 2025-2026 Mid-Year Budget Report and Expenditure
Committee Connection
- BFA – February 19, 2026 – View recording
- Acting Deputy Director for Administration and Performance Management, Lauren Quintero, presented the Commission’s 2025-2026 Mid-Year Budget Report and Expenditure to committee members. Quintero answered questions from committee members and the public. Staff committed to returning at a future BFA meeting with a comprehensive explanation for expenditure progress.
- The committee discussed sustainable funding concepts that may inform future proposals to support behavioral health transformation. The Committee sought clarity on the scope, phases, resource needs, and alignment of the concept with Commission priorities, while public commenters raised concerns about potential conflicts of interest, private‑sector involvement, and the need for strong guardrails and transparency. Commissioners and staff emphasized that the discussion was exploratory only, not a funding proposal, and that no resources were being requested. The Committee concluded that sustainable funding mechanisms may be worth exploring further and recommended that any future concept development move through the Commission’s formal proposal‑review process.
March 26 – Agenda Item #10 – Data & Dashboards
Committee Connection
- PAC – February 19, 2026 – View recording
- Anna Naify, PsyD., Behavioral Health Transformation (BHT) Quality and Equity Workstream Lead at the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) presented on DHCS’ data strategy for the Behavioral Health Services Act, outlining statewide goals and measures for tracking BHT outcomes.
- Kali Patterson, Chief, and Melissa Martin-Mollard, Acting Deputy Director, Research, Evaluation, and Program Operations led the committee through an overview of the Commission’s overarching data capabilities and portfolio, including how data supports the Commission’s role under BHSA. Patterson and Martin-Mollard provided a preview of new dashboards scheduled to be released after a public review process. The full Commission will hear this item during the March meeting.
March 26 – Agenda Item #13 – Update on Strategic Plan Refresh
Committee Connection
- SP – February 26, 2026 – View recording
- The limited-time Strategic Plan Advisory Committee was established at the January 23, 2026 meeting of the full Commission. Executive Director Brenda Grealish and Eric Douglas & Karin Bloomer of Leading Resources, Inc. led a presentation and discussion with committee members and the public on how to ensure the 2024-2027 Strategic Plan aligns with the Behavioral Health Services Act and priority populations. Committee members broadly supported the four strategic priorities and offered feedback to refine their focus, feasibility, and alignment with the Commission’s capacity. Public commenters emphasized the need to clearly define priority populations, maintain prevention and culturally responsive practices, protect peer roles, and ensure transparency in any future sustainable funding approaches. Staff shared early drafts of desired results, and members raised considerations related to housing, prevention, peers, and the SUD continuum, agreeing the priorities should serve as an addendum to the existing Strategic Plan. The full Commission will hear this item during the March meeting. Thereafter, the Committee will meet in April to finish working on the priorities and results, with the final CBH Strategic Plan update (addendum) slated for full Commission review in May 2026.
March 26 – Agenda Item #15 – 2026 Legislative Priorities
Committee Connection
- LEX – February 19, 2026 – View recording
- Deputy Director of Legislative and External Affairs, Kendra Zoller, presented three bills to Committee members for the Commission to potentially support/oppose during the 2026 legislative session. Committee members recommended the full Commission support/oppose the following and direct staff to communicate its position to the legislature and Governor:
- Support:
- AB 96 (Jackson) – Eliminates the minimum education standard for a person applying for a certification as a Medi-Cal Peer Support Specialist.
- AB 1540 (González) – Restores the “Press 3” LGBTQ+ Youth Crisis Hotline routing option available through the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline by requiring the California Office of Emergency Services (CalOES) to ensure technology allows for automatic routing.
- Opposition:
- Changes the Mobile Crisis Benefit from a statewide mandatory Medi-Cal benefit to a county-option benefit thereby shifting the non-federal share of costs of the Medi-Cal benefit to the counties that opt to provide it.
- View presentation
- Support:
- Andrea Anderson, Chief of Communications, provided the committee with an update on the Commission’s video project promoting Coordinating Specialty Care for Early Psychosis Intervention which will be completed this Spring.
- Deputy Director of Legislative and External Affairs, Kendra Zoller, presented three bills to Committee members for the Commission to potentially support/oppose during the 2026 legislative session. Committee members recommended the full Commission support/oppose the following and direct staff to communicate its position to the legislature and Governor:
March 27 – Agenda Item #5 – Future Committee Structure
Committee Connection
- CFC – February 26, 2026 – View recording
- At the August 28, 2025, meeting, the full Commission voted to temporarily merge the Client and Family Leadership Committee (CFLC) and Cultural and Linguistic Competence Committee (CLCC) into the Client, Family, and Community Inclusion, Lived Experience, and Diversity Advisory Committee (CFC) for three meetings. The CFC concluded its third and final meeting before returning to the Commission to determine if the CFC should continue. During this meeting, Committee members voted to recommend that the full Commission approve combination of the committee at the March meeting. This was preceded and followed by discussions that highlighted a range of opinions on the merger, emphasizing the need to elevate both cultural and linguistic competency and lived experience.
- The committee held a robust conversation about the effects of BHSA implementation on peer run organizations and peer services. Specifically, concerns about the impact BHSA funding changes are having on the sustainability of behavioral health peer providers. The Commission will follow this conversation with a listening session to gather additional feedback to formulate recommendations for the Commission to consider later this year.