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Mental Health Services Act (MHSA) Coordinators

Welcome to the CARE TA Center landing page for
county MHSA Coordinators!

This webpage is an information hub with resources to support the important work you do planning, coordinating, implementing, collaborating on, and monitoring MHSA activities in each county.

Are you seeking training or technical assistance related to strengthening the crisis continuum of care or justice diversion efforts in your county? Visit our Training page to request individualized support, register for upcoming trainings, or watch archived virtual learning sessions on demand.

You may also visit Mental Health Services Act (MHSA), DHCS’ main hub of information about the MHSA. Questions or concerns about MHSA programs or MHSA in general can be sent to MHSA@DHCS.ca.gov.

For Mental Health Plan contact information, see the DHCS website.


NEW! Join Our County Corner!

We’re excited to launch the County Corner, a space for California Behavioral Health (BH) county employees to connect, network, discuss state and county BH-related topics, and more. This forum-style format (housed on Basecamp) allows participants to post a BH topic, join a topic discussion, add comments, and message other users directly.

Join the County Corner >

New to Basecamp and not sure how to set up your account or use the platform?
Check out our County Corner User Guide >


What do you want to learn about?

Proposition 63 (MHSA) was approved by California voters in November 2004 to provide increased funding for an improved system of mental health care services throughout California. The MHSA places a 1% tax on personal income in excess of $1 million into the Mental Health Services Fund (MHSF). Since January 2005, counties have used MHSA funds to support community-based mental health services, prevention and early intervention programs, and innovative projects. Read more about the MHSA statutes, regulations, and information notices at the links below.

Welfare and Institutions Code (WIC) Division 5. Community Mental Health Services

California Code of Regulations (CCR) Chapter 14. Mental Health Services Act

MHSA Component Information Notices

Mental Health Services Act as of January 27, 2020 (provided by the MHSOAC)

Counties are required to adopt general standards in the planning, implementation, and evaluation of programs and services provided with MHSA funds. These standards support a system of culturally responsive, person-centered care. They must be embedded within and continuously addressed throughout counties’ MHSA Plans and Updates.

» Community Collaboration:

a process by which clients and/or families receiving services, other community members, agencies, organizations, and businesses work together to share information and resources in order to fulfill a shared vision and goals. (Source: 9 CCR § 3200.060)

» Cultural Competence:

incorporating and working to achieve each of the goals listed here and in the link below into all aspects of policy-making, program design, administration and service delivery. Each system and program is assessed for the strengths and weaknesses of its proficiency to achieve these goals. The infrastructure of a service, program or system is transformed, and new protocol and procedure are developed, as necessary to achieve these goals.

View the cultural competence goals at 9 CCR § 3200.100

» Client-Driven:

the client has the primary decision-making role in identifying his/her needs, preferences and strengths and a shared decision-making role in determining the services and supports that are most effective and helpful for him/her. Client driven programs/services use clients’ input as the main factor for planning, policies, procedures, service delivery, evaluation and the definition and determination of outcomes. (Source: 9 CCR § 3200.050)

» Family-Driven:

families of children and youth with serious emotional disturbance have a primary decision-making role in the care of their own children, including the identification of needs, preferences and strengths, and a shared decision-making role in determining the services and supports that would be most effective and helpful for their children. Family driven programs/services use the input of families as the main factor for planning, policies, procedures, service delivery, evaluation and the definition and determination of outcomes. (Source: 9 CCR § 3200.120)

» Wellness, recovery, and resilience-focused:

planning for services shall be consistent with the philosophy, principles, and practices of the Recovery Vision for mental health consumers:

(1) To promote concepts key to the recovery for individuals who have mental illness: hope, personal empowerment, respect, social connections, self-responsibility, and self-determination.

(2) To promote consumer-operated services as a way to support recovery.

(3) To reflect the cultural, ethnic, and racial diversity of mental health consumers.

(4) To plan for each consumer’s individual needs.

(Source: WIC § 5813.5(d))

» Integrated service experiences for clients and their families:

the client, and when appropriate the client’s family, accesses a full range of services provided by multiple agencies, programs and funding sources in a comprehensive and coordinated manner. (Source: 9 CCR § 3200.190)

In order to spend MHSA funding, counties are required to prepare and submit a Three-Year Program and Expenditure Plan every three years and an Annual Update each year. These program plans and updates must be in place prior to the start of the fiscal year. The county Board of Supervisors must adopt the Plan or Update, and it must be submitted to DHCS and the Mental Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission (MHSOAC) within 30 days of adoption. The Plan and Update must include all the MHSA components and expenditure projections for each component per year. Counties may submit additional updates for one or more components, as needed.

The purpose of these plans is to help ensure that counties are distributing MHSA program funds in a strategic, data-driven way that is responsive to the needs of the community.

View the current County MHSA Three-Year Program and Expenditure Plans and Updates

Review the regulations and Information Notices that guide development of the Plans and Updates: ​​​Three-Year Program and Expenditure Plan and Annual Update

Community Program Planning (CPP) Process

A crucial part of the three-year planning process is authentically and meaningfully engaging community stakeholders, include mental health service recipients, their families, and other constituents (e.g., service providers, law enforcement). Learn more about the Community Program Planning (CPP) Process

MHSA County Program Reviews

To ensure transparency and accountability, DHCS publicly posts MHSA County Performance Outcomes and MHSA County Program Reviews.

DHCS is responsible for overseeing the timely and responsible use of MHSA funds, and it does so by reviewing counties’ annual reports and conducting audits. Visit DHCS’ MHSA Fiscal Oversight for detailed information.

Learn about key MHSA fiscal terms and concepts.

Each year by January 31, counties must submit a complete and accurate Annual Revenue & Expenditure Report (ARER). Learn more about the ARER development, submission, and review process.

Counties that do not submit their ARER on time may be subject to having their MHSA funds withheld temporarily. Learn more about this process: Information Notice 19-012

Depending on population, counties have 3-5 years to spend or encumber (contract) their MHSA funds before the funds may be reverted back to the State and are reallocated across other counties. Learn more at the MHSA Fiscal Oversight webpage, which includes a training video for understanding and responding to reversion notices. The new ARER infographic describes each step of the reversion and appeal process.

MHSA Programs in Each County

  • Search all MHSA-funded programs at the Mental Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission (MHSOAC) Transparency Suite: MHSA Program Search Tool
  • Explore MHSA-funded crisis continuum of care and justice diversion programs in each county with CARE’s California County Crisis Continuum Asset Map
  • View a directory of MHSA programs by county that was created by NAMI California to support relationships between counties and communities: 2019 NAMI CA MHSA County Programs Report

Crisis Continuum of Care & Justice Diversion

  • Explore MHSA-funded crisis continuum of care and justice diversion programs in each county with CARE’s California County Crisis Continuum Asset Map
  • Fact Sheet: How can MHSA be used to support individuals in the Criminal Justice System?explains ways that counties can use MHSA funds for services that support justice diversion, people on parole, and discharge from justice settings.
  • Information Notice 20-075 Implementation of Assembly Bill (AB) 1976: Mental Health Services: Assisted Outpatient Treatment (AOT). This DHCS Information Notice from December 29, 2020, explains that counties are now required to offer AOT (“Laura’s Law”) court-ordered treatment services or specifically opt-out.

Homeless Services

  • Fact Sheet: How can MHSA be used to support Homeless Individuals? provides an overview and specific examples of the MHSA components (including NPLH) that counties can use to support homelessness services and assistance.
  • No Place Like Home (NPLH) is aMHSA-funded initiative to help counties fund permanent supportive housing for people experiencing homelessness who are in need of mental health services.

Peer Support

  • Learn about the specific MHSA components that can be used to fund peer support services in Information Notice 20-056 Peer Support Services – Funding Sources: Enclosure 4.

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The CARE TA Center is not a government agency. The opinions, links, and resources on this website do not reflect the views or endorsement of the California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS).