Addendum to Strategic Plan, 2024-2027

Purpose

This Strategic Plan Update serves as an addendum to the Commission for Behavioral Health’s Strategic Plan 2024-2027 and will be used to focus the Commission’s work in 2026 and 2027 to reflect the mandates of the Behavioral Health Services Act (BHSA), particularly with regard to a focus on the BHSA Priority Populations.¹

Background

The Commission’s Strategic Plan 2024-2027 was adopted by the Commission in January 2024. In March 2024, California voters passed Proposition 1, which revised and renamed the Mental Health Services Act (MHSA) into the BHSA.

The BHSA reshaped the Commission’s role and its work, as follows:

The Behavioral Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission is hereby established to promote transformational change in California’s behavioral health system through research, evaluation and tracking outcomes, and other strategies to assess and report progress. The commission shall use this information and analyses to inform the commission’s grant making, identify key policy issues and emerging best practices, provide technical assistance and training, promote high-quality programs implemented, and advise the Governor and the Legislature, pursuant to the Behavioral Health Services Act and related components of California’s behavioral health system. For this purpose, the commission shall collaborate with the California Health and Human Services Agency, its departments and other state entities.²

In January 2026, the Commission embarked on a process to develop an update to its Strategic Plan 2024-2027 to align the Commission’s work in 2026 and 2027 with the BHSA. The Commission established a time-limited Strategic Plan Advisory Committee to spearhead this update, informed by public input and with feedback from the Commission.

On May 28, 2026, the Commission adopted the following Priorities and Desired Results as its Strategic Plan Update.

Commission Priorities & Desired Results

Priority 1. Meet the Needs of People with the Highest Behavioral Health Needs³

• Result #1: The Commission will educate key stakeholders on the distinction between the MHSA and the BHSA and the intended results of the BHSA.
• Result #2: The Commission will increase transparency and shared understanding of how county behavioral health departments are allocating BHSA resources to serve individuals with the highest behavioral health needs (subject to available information).
• Result #3: The Commission will become a trusted steward of knowledge and learning regarding Full Service Partnerships (FSPs) during and beyond California’s transition to a new behavioral health data and accountability framework.
• Result #4: The Commission will increase statewide understanding of the standard of care experienced by the BHSA Priority Populations, with a focus on individuals served through FSPs, by systematically gathering and synthesizing qualitative, community-based insights.
• Result #5: The Commission will increase statewide understanding and visibility of how housing scarcity and housing service mismatches across the full continuum of housing, including recovery housing, affect individuals served in FSPs—particularly those with Serious Mental Illness (SMI), SUD, and co-occurring SMI/SUD—in order to inform policy, planning and future investment decisions.

Priority 2. Ensure that the Substance Use Disorder Continuum is Incorporated Throughout the Commission’s Work

• Result #1: The Commission will continue efforts to expand Medications for Addiction Treatment (MAT) providers and help to strengthen county infrastructure to support effective, scalable MAT implementation.
• Result #2: The Commission will support the integration of the SUD service continuum into school-based behavioral health programs in order to improve timely access to care for children and youth.
• Result #3: The Commission will increase local-level understanding and acceptance of the evidence-based SUD service continuum by supporting community-based advocacy that addresses stigma, misinformation and philosophical resistance within local SUD systems.
• Result #4: The Commission will increase statewide understanding of the SUD service continuum landscape in California to inform more effective integration of mental health and SUD care across the public behavioral health system.

Priority 3. Expand Peer Behavioral Health Services

• Result #1: The Commission will support the expansion, visibility and appropriate use of behavioral health services provided by peers, including peer respites, as recovery-oriented alternatives within the behavioral health crisis continuum. This includes empowering peers to organize and advocate for their leadership and contributions within the public behavioral health system.
• Result #2: The Commission will elevate and strengthen the role of peers in serving individuals with SUD and SMI conditions, including through education and training.
• Result #3: The Commission will raise statewide understanding that peers who reflect the BHSA’s Priority Populations are essential to the success of behavioral health services, including FSPs.

Priority 4. Build the Evidence Base for the Effectiveness and Sustainability of New and Innovative Statewide Strategies

• Result #1: The Commission will uplift best and promising practices and sustainability strategies through effective administration and evaluation of the Innovation Partnership Fund grant portfolio.
• Result #2: The Commission will explore strategies for ensuring long-term, equitable public behavioral health system revenue stability, efficiency, and effectiveness.

Conclusion

In 2026 and 2027, Commission staff will implement strategies using existing resources to achieve these Priorities and Desired Results and regularly report progress to the Commission and to the public. As the Commission looks ahead to 2028, it will develop a new strategic plan—one that continues to deliver on the mandates of the BHSA and serve its Priority Populations.

¹ Welfare and Institutions Code 5892(d) ↩
² Welfare and Institutions Code 5845(a) ↩
³ As defined by Priority Populations in Welfare and Institutions Code 5892(d). ↩