Cal. WIC § 5963 — California Code / Code wic / Division 5 / Part 7 / Chapter 3 / Article 2 / Section 5963
Section 5963
Status: in_force

(a) It is the intent of the Legislature that this article establish the Integrated Plan for Behavioral Health Services and Outcomes, which each county shall develop every three years to include all of the following:

(1) A demonstration of how the county will utilize various funds for behavioral health services to deliver high-quality, culturally responsive, and timely care along the continuum of services in the least restrictive setting from prevention and wellness in schools and other settings to community-based outpatient care, residential care, crisis care, acute care, and housing services and supports.

(2) A demonstration of how the county will use Behavioral Health Services Act funds to prioritize addressing the needs of those who meet both of the following:

(A) Chronically homeless, experiencing unsheltered homelessness, or are at risk of homelessness, are incarcerated or at risk of being incarcerated, are reentering the community from prison, jail, or a correctional facility, or at risk of institutionalization, conservatorship, or are in the child welfare or adult protective system.

(B) The criteria for eligible adults and older adults, as defined in Section 5892, or for eligible children and youth, as defined in Section 5892.

(3) A demonstration of how the county will strategically invest in early intervention and advancing behavioral health innovation.

(4) A demonstration of how the county has considered other local program planning efforts in the development of the integrated plan to maximize opportunities to leverage funding and services from other programs, including federal funding, Medi-Cal managed care, and commercial health plans.

(5) A demonstration of how the county will support and retain a robust, diverse county and noncounty contracted behavioral health workforce to achieve the statewide and local behavioral health outcome goals.

(6) A development process in partnership with local stakeholders.

(7) A set of measures used to track progress and hold counties accountable in meeting specific outcomes and goals of the integrated plan, including outcomes and goals that reduce disparities.

(8) Information for the state to consider, if necessary, to recommend changes to the county’s integrated plan or requiring sanctions to a county’s Behavioral Health Services Act funding as a result of a county not meeting its obligations or state outcome metrics.

(b) For purposes of this article, the following definitions apply:

(1) “Chronically homeless” means an individual or family that is chronically homeless, as defined in Section 11360 of Title 42 of the United States Code, or as otherwise modified or expanded by the State Department of Health Care Services.

(2) “Department” means the State Department of Health Care Services.

(3) “Experiencing homelessness or are at risk of homelessness” means people who are homeless or at risk of homelessness, as defined in Section 91.5 of Title 24 of the Code of Federal Regulations, or as otherwise defined by the department.

(4) “Integrated plan” means the Integrated Plan for Behavioral Health Services and Outcomes required by this section.

(c) Notwithstanding any other law, new and ongoing county and behavioral health agency administrative costs to implement this article and Section 14197.71, any costs for plan development required under this article that exceed the amounts set forth in subparagraph (B) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (e) of Section 5892, and any costs for reporting required by this article that exceed the amounts set forth in subparagraph (B) of paragraph (2) of subdivision (e) of Section 5892, shall be included in the Governor’s 2024–25 May Revision. The State Department of Health Care Services shall consult with the California State Association of Counties and the County Behavioral Health Directors Association of California no later than March 15, 2024, to estimate the resources needed to implement this article and Section 14197.71.