Building the Continuum: How the Behavioral Health Continuum Infrastructure Program (BHCIP) Is Expanding Care in California

From crisis response to long-term treatment, California is investing in the facilities needed to strengthen its behavioral health care continuum

For decades, California’s behavioral health system has faced persistent gaps in the infrastructure needed to deliver care—limited crisis stabilization options, insufficient step-down facilities, and too few community-based alternatives to hospitalization. The result: people cycle through emergency rooms, jails, and short-term care without access to the follow-up support they need.

Addressing this gap requires building the infrastructure to deliver care. That’s where the Behavioral Health Continuum Infrastructure Program (BHCIP) comes in.

What is BHCIP?

The Behavioral Health Continuum Infrastructure Program (BHCIP) is California’s major investment in behavioral health facilities. Administered by the Department of Health Care Services, BHCIP provides funding to build, acquire, and expand facilities that serve people with mental health conditions and substance use disorders. 

The goal is to ensure Californians can access the right care, in the right setting, at the right time across the full continuum—from crisis response to long-term recovery. BHCIP funding supports a wide range of facility types, including:

• Crisis stabilization units and sobering centers
• Residential treatment facilities for mental health and substance use disorders
• Community mental health clinics and outpatient programs
• Wellness and recovery centers
• Mobile crisis infrastructure

The goal is simple: create a complete continuum of care so that Californians can access the right services at the right time, in the right setting.

These investments complement other major reforms in recent years, including the 988 Crisis Lifeline, the Behavioral Health Services Act (BHSA), BH-CONNECT, and the CalAIM Behavioral Health Initiative.

How is BHCIP funded?

BHCIP was initially funded with $2.2 billion through 2021 legislation, distributed through multiple competitive grant rounds aimed at closing specific gaps in the system.

• Round 1: Mobile Crisis Infrastructure – Expands mobile crisis response capacity across the state, with funding reaching 53 of California’s 58 counties.
• Round 2: Planning Grants – Helps counties, tribes, and regional partners identify local needs and develop infrastructure plans.
• Round 3: Launch Ready – Funds projects ready to move into construction and implementation.
• Round 4: Children and Youth – Focuses on expanding services for young people and families.
• Round 5: Crisis and Continuum Expansion – Invests in a broader range of crisis and treatment services to reduce reliance on hospitals and incarceration.

In 2024, California voters approved Proposition 1, which included the Behavioral Health Infrastructure Bond Act (BHIBA) and significantly expanded available funding. The bond added $6.38 billion to develop treatment facilities, residential care settings, and supportive housing statewide—with up to $4.4 billion flowing through two additional BHCIP rounds. These grants prioritize launch-ready projects and regions with unmet needs, including rural and underserved communities.

• Proposition 1 Bond Round 1: Launch Ready – Prioritizes behavioral health campus models and projects identified as launch ready
• Proposition 1 Bond Round 2: Unmet Needs – Distributes funds to rural and remote areas with outstanding behavioral health needs and/or no prior BHCIP infrastructure projects

So far, BHCIP grants have funded 495 projects, creating almost 10,000 new treatment beds and over 47,000 outpatient care slots statewide.

What types of facilities are being built?

Rather than funding a single type of facility, the program supports a wide range of settings across the continuum. Recent grants show a diverse mix of investments, including:

• Crisis stabilization units and sobering centers that provide immediate, short-term care
• Residential treatment facilities for both mental health and substance use disorders
• Mental health rehabilitation centers offering longer-term, recovery-focused support
• Community wellness and outpatient centers that expand access to ongoing care
• Youth-focused facilities, including crisis programs and prevention centers
• Peer respite and culturally responsive care models, particularly for underserved populations

For example, recent projects include a 32-bed mental health rehabilitation center in Sacramento County, a 120-bed residential substance use treatment facility in Riverside County, and a youth wellness center in Los Angeles County serving tens of thousands of young people annually.

Other investments are focused on specific populations, such as facilities serving Native communities, transition-age youth, and LGBTQ+ individuals—reflecting a broader shift toward more tailored, community-based care.

How is BHCIP funding being allocated?

BHCIP funding has reached a wide geographic footprint across California, with dozens of counties represented in each round and near-statewide coverage for mobile crisis investments. Across all rounds, 50 of California’s 58 counties (86%) have received at least one grant. Los Angeles County has the highest number of projects — reflecting both population need and system capacity — followed by Alameda, Riverside, Humboldt, and Kern.

Proposition 1 Bond projects shift toward integrated, co-located models of care with multiple facilities per project, rather than standalone sites. Funding across both bond rounds reached 48 counties, representing 83% of all counties statewide.

BHCIP Round 2 funds are designated for project planning proposals, so no awardees have been announced yet. DHCS is currently reviewing 48 applications from 35 counties.

As the table below shows, investments span a diverse set of facility types, reflecting an effort to build out the full continuum of care. Nonprofit organizations and counties make up the majority of awardees, underscoring the central role of public–community partnerships in delivering these services.

Rounds 1-5 data as of March 9, 2026. Bond Rounds 1-2 data as of April 29, 2026.

BHCIP Facility Groundbreakings and Ribbon Cuttings

Since launching in 2021, hundreds of BHCIP-funded facilities have achieved key milestones.  The table below tracks recent ribbon cuttings and ground breakings from May 2025 to June 2026. We will continue updating as more milestones are reached.