Mental Health Services Act.

Existing law, the Mental Health Services Act (MHSA) , an initiative measure enacted by the voters as Proposition 63 at the November 2, 2004, statewide general election, establishes the Mental Health Services Fund (MHSF) , a continuously appropriated fund, to fund various county mental health programs, including children's mental health care, adult and older adult mental health care, prevention and early intervention programs, and innovative programs. This bill would require the California Health and Human Services Agency, by July 1, 2025, to establish the California MHSA Outcomes and Accountability Review (MHSA-OAR) , consisting of performance indicators, county self-assessments, and county MHSA improvement plans, to facilitate a local accountability system that fosters continuous quality improvement in county programs funded by the MHSA and in the collection and dissemination by the agency of best practices in service delivery. The bill would require the agency to convene a workgroup, as specified, to establish a workplan by which the MHSA-OAR shall be conducted, including a process for qualitative peer reviews, conducted by peer counties, of counties' MHSA services and uniform elements for the county MHSA system improvement plans. The bill would require the agency to establish specific process measures and uniform elements for the county MHSA improvement plan updates. The bill would require the counties to execute and fulfill components of its MHSA system improvement plan that can be accomplished with existing resources. The bill would require the agency to report to the Legislature, on an annual basis, a report that summarizes county performance on the established performance indicators during the reporting period, analyzes county performance trends over time, and makes findings and recommendations for common MHSA services improvements identified in the county MHSA self-assessments and county MHSA system improvement plans. By imposing new requirements on counties, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. This bill would require the agency to request the University of California to enter into a contract with the state to provide specified services, including preparing an analysis of how data pertaining to the provision of mental health services and client outcomes collected by the counties and provided to the state may be used to demonstrate the impact of services funded by the MHSF on life outcomes. The bill would require the analysis to be delivered to the agency, the Legislature, and the workgroup on or before July 1, 2024. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.