Mental Health Services Act

MHSA

In November, 2004, California voters passed Proposition 63, the Mental Health Services Act (MHSA) which became law on January 1, 2005. The Act imposed one percent taxation on individual income exceeding $1 million. The MHSA is a unified, statewide initiative to provide improved care for individuals living with a mental illness and to outline a methodology to the plan of care and delivery of mental health services.  MHSA is made up of five components; Community Services and Supports, Prevention & Early Intervention, Innovation, Capital Facilities and Technological Needs, and Workforce Education and Training.

Community Services & Supports

Community Services and Supports (CSS) is the largest component of the MHSA.  The CSS component is focused on community collaboration, cultural competence, client and family drives services and systems, wellness focus, which includes concepts of recovery and resilience, integrated service experiences for clients and families, as well as serving the unserved and underserved.  Housing is also a large part of the CSS component.

Prevention & Early Intervention

The Mental Health Services Oversight & Accountability Commission (MHSOAC) controls funding approval for the Prevention & Early Intervention (PEI) component of the MHSA.  The goal of Prevention & Early Intervention is to help counties implement services that promote wellness, foster health, and prevent the suffering that can result from untreated mental illness.  The Prevention & Early Intervention component requires collaboration with consumers and family members in the development of PEI projects and programs.

Innovation

The MHSOAC controls funding approval for the Innovation (INN) component of the MHSA.  The goal of Innovation is to increase access to underserved groups, increase the quality of services, promote interagency collaboration and increase access to services.  Counties select one or more of the above mentioned goals and use those goals as the primary priority, or priorities, for their proposed Innovation plan.  The Draft 2022-2027 Tuolumne County Innovation Proposal is now available for review. 

Capital Facilities and Technological Needs

The Capital Facilities and Technological Needs (CFTN) component works towards the creation of a facility that is used for the delivery of MHSA services to mental health clients and their families or for administrative offices.  Funds may also be used to support an increase in peer-support and consumer-run facilities, development of community-based settings, and the development of a technological infrastructure for the mental health system to facilitate the highest quality and most cost-effective services and supports for clients and their families.

Workforce Education and Training

The goal of the Workforce Education and Training (WET) component is to develop a diverse workforce.  Clients and families/caregivers are given training to help others by providing skills to promote wellness and other positive mental health outcomes.  They are able to work collaboratively to deliver client and family-driven services, provide outreach to unserved and underserved populations, as well as services that are linguistically and culturally competent and relevant, and include the viewpoints and expertise of clients and their families/caregivers.