Golden State Today

Governor Gavin Newsom announced today that his administration is awarding nearly $133 million for behavioral health bridge housing to provide rapid housing for people with behavioral health illnesses living on the street so they can safely stabilize before beginning the next steps to recovery. He also urged counties to use various other tools at their disposal, including CARE Courts and conservatorship reform.

Sacramento, California – Today, Governor Gavin Newsom announced that his administration is awarding $132.5 million to 10 county behavioral health agencies under the Department of Health Care Services’ Behavioral Health Bridge Housing (BHBH) Program. This funding enables counties to provide temporary, safe housing and essential support for people transitioning from homelessness to permanent housing. Bridge housing is a crucial component of addressing the urgent needs of Californians experiencing homelessness who have serious mental health or substance use disorder treatment needs by providing a temporary place to safely start their recovery journey.

The BHBH program is just one tool available to counties as they work to support the most sick and vulnerable in our state. Over the weekend, Governor Newsom urged the Chairs of California’s Boards of Supervisors to implement conservatorship reform, the first update to the state’s conservatorship laws in over 50 years. In addition, the new Community Assistance, Recovery and Empowerment Act, also known as the CARE Court program, is already being implemented in nine counties and will be implemented statewide later this year. It helps hold counties and people with untreated psychosis accountable for care plans and empowers families and others to petition for help.

“Bridge behavioral health housing is a crucial component of our larger work to meet the needs of Californians experiencing homelessness who have serious mental health or substance use disorder treatment needs and require urgent housing to stabilize and recover. But it’s also just a piece of the puzzle for solving our homelessness and behavioral health crises – that’s why our counties must step up and implement conservatorship reform and the CARE Court program. My administration continues to provide local governments with the tools to tackle this crisis head-on – the time for action is now,” said Governor Gavin Newsom.

Details on today’s awards

DHCS is partnering with county behavioral health agencies to offer the BHBH Program. County behavioral health agencies that had a signed contract for the first round of BHBH Program funding on or before April 10, 2024 were eligible to apply for an additional round of funding to implement bridge housing services for Californians experiencing homelessness who have serious behavioral health conditions. In Round 1, DHCS awarded more than $900 million to county behavioral health agencies to provide support through bridge housing settings, including tiny homes, interim housing, rental assistance models, and assisted living settings. With today’s funding, counties will expand rental assistance programs, establish housing for people exiting incarceration, expand interim housing, and build on other program components such as landlord engagement.

About the BHBH program

Today’s awards build upon last year’s $900 million allocation to counties and tribal entities. The Request for Applications was released in January 2024 offering two tracks: either operational funding or operational and infrastructure funding. These awards will significantly enhance local efforts by bolstering development of tiny homes, interim housing, rental assistance programs, and other models which include access to behavioral health services.

About conservatorship reform

Conservatorship is a last resort aimed at connecting people with serious behavioral health care needs with resources and support necessary for their protection. Conservatorship can help break cycles of repeated crises including arrest and imprisonment, psychiatric hospitalization, homelessness, or premature death by providing care that restores mental health. Legislation signed by Governor Newsom updated eligibility criteria for conservatorships without requiring co-occurring mental disorders while creating transparency into data on mental health conservatorships.

About CARE Courts

CARE Court connects individuals struggling with untreated psychosis – often coupled with substance use challenges – with court-ordered Care Plans lasting up to 24 months managed by community care teams including supportive services like medication management along with legal representation ensuring self-directed care decisions are made alongside clinical teams.

Bigger picture

The BHBH Program aligns with California Health & Human Services Agency's Guiding Principles contributing towards preventing/ending homelessness aligning broader efforts addressing mental/opioid/homelessness crises across states following March voter-approved Proposition 1 comprising $6 billion Behavioral Health Bond historic reforms focusing severely ill/substance disordered populations' needs inclusive treatment settings/services enhancing overall welfare ensuring better future outcomes transforming lives positively statewide