CYBHI Launched  as a 5-Year, $4.7 Billion Initiative; Key Component to Governor Gavin Newsom’s “Master Plan for Kids”

SACRAMENTO – The California Health & Human Services Agency, along with its departments and offices, is proud to share the January 2023 Progress Report  of the Children and Youth Behavioral Health Initiative (CYBHI), a $4.7 billion, five-year initiative to transform the way California serves the mental, emotional and behavioral health needs of children, youth and families.

Statement from California Health and Human Services Secretary Dr. Mark Ghaly:

“The report details activities and accomplishments in the CYBHI’s first 18 months to expand the behavioral health workforce; build key infrastructure necessary to meet the needs of California’s diverse children, youth and families; expand coverage and access to critical behavioral health supports; and raise awareness of behavioral health through culturally and linguistically appropriate campaigns.

Serving as the core of the Governor’s Master Plan for Kids’ Mental Health, the CYBHI is built on a foundation of equity and is designed for and with children, youth and families. Their voices, as well as the voices of those with professional expertise across disciplines, inform every phase of its work, from design to implementation and evaluation.

The CYBHI and our partners have made important strides in setting the stage for transformative change and creating an equity-focused system for youth and families. Yet, there is much work to do that will require continued support and collaboration across systems, sectors and disciplines.

In the year ahead, we look forward to building on the energy and momentum that has been created so far as we move more of our efforts from design into implementation to create a system that youth and families need.

Achievements include:

• Engaged more than 1000 organizations; conducted 399 listening sessions, stakeholder and expert interviews; and facilitated or participated in over 75 roundtables, focus groups and community engagement sessions.
• Awarded millions in grants, loan repayment programs and scholarships to increase the number of behavioral health professionals, including $37.6 million in grants to support psychiatric mental health nurse practitioner training and psychiatry residency programs.
• Provided training and support for Social Emotional Learning that reached more than 6,000 school staff across all 58 California County Offices of Education and their local districts.
• Awarded $480.5 million in grants for 54 projects to improve California’s behavioral health infrastructure for children and youth.
• Launched a new program to support increased student access to preventive, early-intervention and behavioral health services from school-affiliated behavioral health providers, through building partnerships involving 23 Medi-Cal Managed Care Plans, 57 County Offices of Education, more than 300 local education agencies and all 58 County Behavioral Health Departments.

View the January 2023 Progress Report now.