California Behavioral Health Transformation: County Performance Accelerator
The objective of the California Behavioral Health Transformation: County Performance Accelerator is to offer tailored county implementation support surrounding Behavioral Health Transformation (BHT) and its focus on outcomes, transparency, accountability, and equity. This project, administered by the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) and managed by the team outlined below, will assist counties in improving the performance in the delivery of behavioral health services and the contracting for these services with outcomes, transparency, and accountability to its residents.
Example technical assistance implementation tools include trainings, webinars, toolkits, templates, and case studies, which will be tailored to county needs. Counties participating in the initial cohort will shape these scalable approaches to accountability and service delivery, ultimately informing statewide BHT implementation efforts.
What is the California Behavioral Health Transformation: County Performance Accelerator? BHT shifts behavioral health policy with an increased emphasis on high need priority populations, access to specific services, and enhancing the behavioral health workforce. Crucially, it also embeds a cross-cutting focus on outcomes, transparency, accountability, and equity. This project will support a select cohort of counties to navigate the new requirements and opportunities of BHT. Participating counties will receive targeted technical assistance from a dedicated team of experts in behavioral health policy, performance management, and performance-based contracting.
Specific domains where technical assistance will focus include:
- Internal contracting practice, including procurement, innovative contracting strategies, and management
- County system practices including the continuum of care and internal structure, and performance management mechanisms
- External interface including coordinating and educating the Board of Supervisors, and other services and stakeholders across the ecosystem, an increasing transparency across the system
Initially, up to six counties will have the opportunity to participate in the technical assistance project, which will support these counties in designing and delivering a modern, accountable, and equitable system of care.
The project deliverables, as defined by the DHCS RFA are:
- Improving Participant Access and Journey
- Improving Performance Management
- Building Contracting for Outcomes Processes
- Building BHSA Expertise in BOS & BH Boards
Assisting counties in improving performance in the delivery of behavioral health services and the contracting for these services with outcomes, transparency, and accountability to its residents.
The Accelerator Team’s goal is to support county priorities effectively and efficiently, while building capacity to carry this work forward.
Participating counties will commit to the following activities:
- Partnership and commitment, including regular engagement and data sharing
- Collaboration in a county deep-dive assessment, conducted by the Accelerator team, and supported by the county
- Stakeholder engagement, including facilitating introductions with internal and external partners throughout the deep dive process and engagement in feedback sessions
- Co-development of tools and resources, providing input on toolkits, templates, training materials, and technical assistance strategies
- Capacity building and implementation support, participating in training and technical assistance sessions and piloting the use of new tools, templates and frameworks
- Collaboration and peer-learning in cross-county learning opportunities, focus groups, and contributions to case studies
Timeline
Team
Social Finance is a national nonprofit that partners with innovators across sectors –governments, employers, investors, universities, philanthropies, nonprofits – to rewire systems and scale solutions to society’s most pressing challenges. Our Impact Advisory practice works with public sector leaders to implement data-driven practices aimed at delivering better results.
HBGI is a nonprofit organization that works with donors, governments and service providers to enhance mental health programs and systems worldwide. HBGI uses an outcomes-based approach to center individual lived experience and measure performance and impact. They work internationally, transforming and building high-performing mental health services and systems that maximize outcomes for individuals and their communities.
Steinberg Institute has been the driving force behind sweeping improvements in California behavioral health policy, including parity and 988.The Institute is dedicated to transforming California’s mental health and substance use care systems through ourVision 2030 Initiative. Our vision is to ensure that all Californians receive quality care when, where and for as long as they need it via our research, policy, and implementation work.