Backgroundāāā
In March 2024, California voters passed Proposition 1 to transform behavioral health (mental health and substance use challenges) through statewide reform and expansion of Californiaās behavioral health system. The two legislative bills that created the language in Proposition 1 are:
- āāāBehavioral Health Services Act (BHSA) SB 326ā
- Behavioral Health Infrastructure Bond Act AB 531
Investing in Prevention
CDPH will receive funding to implement population-based behavioral health-prevention strategies.
- A minimum of 4% of BHSA funds will be directed for population-based mental health and substance use disorder prevention programs.
- A significant portion of these prevention funds (51%) will be reserved for programs addressing prevention for populations who are 25 years or younger. ā
BHSA Population-Based Prevention Programs Planning
āCDPH is developing plans for BHSA Statewide Population-Based Prevention Programs. These plans will be published on the CDPH website and open for public comment. On June 19, 2025, CDPH released the first component of its comprehensive plan for public comment. Read the āBehavioral Health Services Actā Population-Based Prevention Program Guide - Phase 1 and visit the Partner and Community Engagement webpageā to learn more about how to provide public comment.ā
Improving Behavioral Health Outcomes
Behavioral health conditions have a growing impact on Californians. More than 50 different programs across CDPH work to improve behavioral health outcomes for all Californians.āÆExamples include:āÆ
-
Never a Bother Campaign launched in March 2024 through the CDPH Office of Suicide Prevention. This is a multilingual youth suicide prevention media and outreach campaign, co-created with youth from across the state.āÆāÆāÆā
- The Youth Suicide Reporting and Crisis Response Pilot Programā is developing and testing models to make youth suicide and attempted suicide reportable events that initiate rapid and comprehensive responses (i.e., crisis response) in schools and community settings.āÆāÆ
- The Take Space to Pause campaignā, a public education and change campaignā co-designed with youth to reduce stigma around behavioral health and to increase help-seeking behavior and wellness support.āÆāāāā
CDPH Resources
Stay Informedā