Child and Youth Behavioral Health Initiative (CYBHI):
Public Education and Change Campaigns
Reduce stigma, increase help-seeking behavior and wellness support.
What is the CYBHI?
The goal of the Children and Youth Behavioral Health Initiative (CYBHI) is to reimagine the systems that support behavioral health and wellness for Californiaās children and youth into an innovative, up-stream focused ecosystem. This ecosystem will focus on promoting well-being and preventing behavioral health challenges, and routinely screening, supporting, and serving ALL children and youth for emerging and existing mental, emotional, and behavioral (MEB) challenges, including substance use disorders and wellness.
The initiative will be designed and implemented in partnership with CalHHS departments, education community partners from early childhood, Kā12 and higher education, other State agencies, subject matter experts, community partners on the ground and in the field, and children, youth, and their families. Focusing on prevention and early intervention can help reduce children and youthās risk of developing serious mental, emotional and behavioral challenges.
What is CDPH doing for the CYBHI? ā
CDPH will be implementing a public education and change campaigns that are co-designed for and by youth in order to raise behavioral health literacy among youth, caregivers, and their communities. The goal of the campaigns is to reduce stigma around mental, emotional, behavioral health and substance use disorder and to increase help-seeking behavior and wellness support.
What is Behavioral Health Literacy?
Behavioral Health Literacy is an awareness of behavioral health struggles without stigma. It is knowing when and where to seek help. CDPH recognizes that raising the health literacy of individuals must be paired with structural changes. The CYBHI as a whole is working to shift Californiaās behavioral health ecosystem.
āMore about Health Literacy
āThe report also calls for an integrative approach to develop health literacy interventions that involve a range of community-based organizations, not just medical centers, including schools, churches, sports groups, and workplaces. For example, health literacy programs should be introduced in childhood and should be part of school curriculums. They should be designed and adapted to the needs of individual communities, through the involvement of local students and teachers. Ensuring health literacy must be a whole-of-society endeavor at the individual, community, and national level, and work across sectors, not just health.ā -The Lancet, Editorial āWhy is health literacy failing so many?ā Nov 12, 2022. Vol 40, page 1655.
CDPHāS Campaign Goals:
CDPHās Youth Led ApproachāÆ
Our youth and caregiver co-designed public education and change campaigns will focus on reducing stigma, increasing awareness, and increasing help-seeking behavior. CDPH is creating the public education and change campaigns with these values in mind: advancing equity, designing for youth by youth, centering children and youth, empowering caregivers and communities, and stigma reduction. CDPH aims to increase the behavioral health literacy of all Californians, with special attention to these five communities in order to reduce overall health disparities: African Americans/Black, Native Americans, Asians and Pacific Islanders, Latinos, and Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer and Questioning communities with special consideration for transitional-age youth, persons with disabilities, justice and foster care involved youth and those living in rural areas.
āāYouth Co-Lab
The Youth Co-Lab is an internal committee comprised of 12 youth (ages 14 to 25) and 2 youth leaders (ages 21 to 25) who will partner with CDPH-OHE for a co-designed three-year campaign. While all 14 youth members engage in content review, the leaders assist with operations, workshops, outreach, and recruitment in partnership with CDPH-OHE to codesign the CYBHI public education and change campaign. The Youth Co-Lab will ensure that the unique voices, needs, and ideas held by Californiaāās youth are integrated into all aspects of the campaign.
ā
How CDPH will design and deliver Campaigns
Statewide Public Education and Change Campaign
CDPH is soliciting help with designing and delivering the campaigns from community members and a media firm. On September 1, 2023 CDPH-OHE released Solicitation #23-10481, providing an opportunity for media firms to bid on developing, designing, and delivering the campaignāā. Any questions regarding the statewide campaign may be sent via email to CYBHIMedia@cdph.ca.govā
ā
Local Level Public Education and Change Campaigns
On February 20, 2024, the California Department of Public Health (CDPH), through The Public Health Institute Center for Wellness and Nutrition, awarded $25 million to 28 community based and tribal organizations for the CDPH, Office of Health Equity's Local Level Public Education and Change Campaigns. The organizations will develop culturally, linguistically, and age-appropriate campaigns aimed at reducing stigma and discrimination, and connect individuals, families, and caregivers to the appropriate resources they need around mental, emotional, and behavioral health promotion, prevention, treatment, maintenance, and wellness. The campaigns will be youth centered and co-created representing our five priority populations: African Americans/Black, Native Americans, Asians and Pacific Islanders, Latinos, and Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer and Questioning communities with special consideration for transitional-age youth, persons with disabilities, justice and foster care involved youth, and those living in rural areas. View the full list of grantees here (PDF.)ā
More information regarding the funding opportunity can be found on the PHāI portal here.
ā
āSolicitation Materials
CDPH intends to award a contract in response to Solicitiation #23-10481ā, for CYBHI's Public Education and Change Campaign: (Notice of Intent to Award, PDF)āā.
Current Version: Solicitation #23-10481 (Version 2.1, PDF)
What has CDPH done to prepare for the Solicitation?
Expert Engagement ā The Brain Trust
The Brain Trust is an advisory committee comprised of national and international subject matter experts who provide thought partnership with CDPH. They assist CDPH in creating culturally and linguistically appropriate behavioral health and change literacy campaigns that are co-designed for and by youth, caregivers, and their communities.
Community Engagement ā Community Partners and Impacted Community
Prior to drafting the Solicitation, CDPH consulted with community partners to ensure the campaigns would be designed for and by youth.
CDPH engaged with:
- 12 Community members in introductory meetings
- 40 Impacted community members through focus groups
- 6 Impacted community member interviews
- 21 Community of solution members engaged in listening sessions
ā
ā
ā