3.A. Purpose of the Integrated Plan [DRAFT]

The Behavioral Health Services Act (BHSA) requires counties¹ to submit three-year Integrated Plans for Behavioral Health Services and Outcomes (Integrated Plans (IPs)). Whereas the Three-Year Program and Expenditure Plan required under the MHSA focused exclusively on MHSA dollars, the BHSA establishes the IP to serve as a three-year prospective global spending plan that describes how counties plan to use all available behavioral health funding, including BHSA, 1991 and 2011 Realignment, federal grant programs, federal financial participation from Medi-Cal, opioid settlement funds, local funding, and other funding to meet statewide and local outcome measures, reduce disparities, and address the unmet need in their community. In accordance with the BHSA, the IP provides a description of how counties will plan expenditures across a range of behavioral health funding sources and deliver high-quality, culturally responsive, and timely care along the Behavioral Health Care Continuum for the plan period.² The Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) is developing an IP Template which will include the required elements for each county to submit in their IPs. A copy of the IP Template will be released in this policy manual to inform county planning. Counties will submit the IP through a DHCS web-based portal.

IPs require counties to conduct a thorough data-informed local service planning process and provide transparency into county planning for expending BHSA funding and all other behavioral health funding sources overseen by counties. IPs will also facilitate local and statewide data collection by providing baseline data on services and planned expenditures and supporting analysis of county goals and outcomes.

^{1 W&I Code  §§ 5963, subdivision (a); 5963.02, subdivision (a)}

^{2 W&I Code § 5963, subdivision (a)(1)}