Funding will help expand the capacity of treatment facilities that serve young Californians
California Department of Health Care Services announced the awarding of $1.3 million in grant funding to Pacific Clinics that will support behavioral health infrastructure to address gaps in care and create sustainable improvements to better serve county residents.
“Through this project, we will be able to complete much-needed renovations to our facility to not only better meet the needs of children, youth and families in our communities but increase the number of families we serve and be that “one-stop shop,” says Maria Murillo, regional executive director of Pacific Clinics’ Inland Empire.
The awards are delivered through the Department of Health Care Services’ (DHCS) Behavioral Health Continuum Infrastructure Program (BHCIP) Round 4: Children and Youth grants. Governor Gavin Newsom announced $480.5 million in awards for 54 projects to improve California’s behavioral health infrastructure for children and youth.
“This grant is a tremendous investment in the Inland Empire and will help bring access to much-needed behavioral health and mental health services to the local community,” Murillo adds.
This is the fourth of six rounds of the $2.2 billion BHCIP funding provided by the Legislature and the Governor, which was authorized in the fiscal year 2021-22 budget to construct, acquire, and expand behavioral health facilities and community-based care options as well as invest in mobile crisis infrastructure. Funds can only be used for facility capacity expansion. BHCIP is part of a broader commitment by the California Health & Human Services Agency (CalHHS) to improve the state’s behavioral health and long-term care continuum infrastructure.
These investments will ensure care can be provided in the least restrictive settings by creating a wide range of options, including outpatient alternatives, urgent care, peer respite, wellness centers, and social rehabilitation models. They will allow alternatives to incarceration, hospitalization, homelessness, and institutionalization by better meeting the needs of vulnerable populations who face the greatest barriers to access. A variety of care placement options can provide a vital off-ramp from intensive behavioral health service settings, helping transition individuals, including the most vulnerable, to community living.
Recipients of BHCIP Round 4: Children and Youth grants include cities, counties, Tribal entities, nonprofits, and for-profit organizations statewide that serve target populations. Additional information on BHCIP Round 4: Children and Youth awardees is available at BHCIP Grant Award Information.
