Navigating the BHSA Policy Manual

Accessing the version of the Policy Manual that you’d like to read

When accessing the Behavioral Health Services Act County Policy Manual, you will arrive on a landing page that displays the final Behavioral Health Services Act County Policy Manual and any drafts that are available for Public Feedback. Be sure to click on the version of the Behavioral Health Services Act County Policy Manual that you would like to view, whether that is a draft Module or a final version.

You can also use the “Search” bar on the landing page to search for a topic or area of interest in the Behavioral Health Services Act County Policy Manual. The filter drop-down to the right of the “Search” bar will let you search specific modules or versions of the Behavioral Health Services Act County Policy Manual, if available.

When left in “Search all”, the “Search” function will search all versions of the Behavioral Health Services Act County Policy Manual, the Help Center, and any draft modules that are available for public feedback.

Left-Hand Navigation Bar 

You can navigate around the Behavioral Health Services Act County Policy Manual through the left-hand navigation bar. The navigation bar contains a listing of each available section of the Behavioral Health Services Act County Policy Manual. You can select the section title that you are interested in and view the content.

Navigation and Search

The upper portion of the screen contains a “Search” bar that allows you to search for a specific term or section of the Behavioral Health Services Act County Policy Manual. The “Search” feature will give you a list of sections or sub-sections in the policy manual that include the content of interest.

Navigating Different Versions of the Behavioral Health Services Act County Policy Manual

As new versions of the Behavioral Health Services Act County Policy Manual become available, older versions are stored for reference. If you would like to access an older version, you can do so from the “Home” page by using the drop-down menu next to the “Search” bar. Be sure to select the version of the Behavioral Health Services Act County Policy Manual that you’d like to review.

Accessing the Cited Statutes and Regulations

The BHSA County Policy Manual references relevant sections of California and federal statute and regulations to support interpretation and implementation of program requirements.

Users may access the most current of California state statutes referenced in the Policy Manual through the California Legislative Information website at leginfo.legislature.ca.gov. This includes Welfare and Institutions Code (WIC), Health and Safety Code (HSC), Public Resources Code (PRC), Insurance Code (INS), and Government Code (GOV). To locate a specific statute, go to “Quick Code Search,” select the applicable Code from the drop-down menu, enter the Code section, and press “Go.” The subdivision can be found within the text of the Code section.

Example: W&I Code section 5600.3, subdivision (b)(2)

• Quick Code Search: select “WIC”

• Code section: 5600.3

• Press “Go,” and scroll to subdivision (b)(2)

Users may access state regulations referenced in the Policy Manual in the California Code of Regulations at govt.westlaw.com/calregs/Search/Index. To locate a specific regulation, enter the title (the number before “CCR”) and the section (the number following “CCR”), and press “Search.” The subsection can be found within the text of the regulation.

Example: 9 CCR section 3420.65, subsection (a)

• Title: 9

• Section: 3420.65

• Press “Search,” and scroll to subsection (a)

Users may access federal statutes referenced in the Policy Manual in the United States Code at uscode.house.gov. To locate a section of the Code, go to “Jump To,” enter the title (the number before “U.S.C.”) and the section (the number following “U.S.C.”), and press “Go.” The search function allows users to include subsections (the text after the section number) in the “Section” search box.

Example: 42 U.S.C. 11434a(2)

• Jump To:

  • Title: 42

  • Section: 11434

    • Users may include the subsection (e.g., “a(2)”) in the “Section” search box to navigate to the exact location

• Press “Go”

Users may access federal regulations referenced in the Policy Manual at www.eCFR.gov. To locate a regulation, enter the cited regulation in the search bar at the top of the page, beginning with the title (the number before “CFR”), CFR, the section or part number (the number following “CFR”), and press the “Enter” key. Users can include the subpart in the search; the subpart must be properly capitalized to find the correct section. Example: 2 CFR 200

• Enter “2 CFR 200” in the search bar

• Press the “Enter” key