(Amended (as amended by Stats. 2024, Ch. 40, Sec. 40) by Stats. 2025, Ch. 243, Sec. 16.)

(a) “Commission” means the Behavioral Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission established pursuant to Section 5845.

(b) “County” also includes a city receiving funds pursuant to Section 5701.5.

(d) “Childhood trauma prevention and early intervention” refers to a program that targets children exposed to, or who are at risk of exposure to, adverse and traumatic childhood events and prolonged toxic stress in order to deal with the early origins of mental health needs and prevent long-term mental health concerns. This may include, but is not limited to, all of the following:

(1) Focused outreach and early intervention to at-risk and in-need populations.

(2) Implementation of appropriate trauma and developmental screening and assessment tools with linkages to early intervention services to children that qualify for these services.

(3) Collaborative, strengths-based approaches that appreciate the resilience of trauma survivors and support their parents and caregivers when appropriate.

(4) Support from peer support specialists and community health workers trained to provide mental health services.

(5) Multigenerational family engagement, education, and support for navigation and service referrals across systems that aid the healthy development of children and families.

(6) Linkages to primary care health settings, including, but not limited to, federally qualified health centers, rural health centers, community-based providers, school-based health centers, and school-based programs.

(7) Leveraging the healing value of traditional cultural connections, including policies, protocols, and processes that are responsive to the racial, ethnic, and cultural needs of individuals served and recognition of historical trauma.

(8) Coordinated and blended funding streams to ensure individuals and families experiencing toxic stress have comprehensive and integrated supports across systems.

(e) “Early psychosis and mood disorder detection and intervention” has the same meaning as set forth in paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) of Section 5835 and may include programming across the age span.

(f) “Youth outreach and engagement” means strategies that target secondary school and transition age youth, with a priority on partnerships with college mental health programs that educate and engage students and provide either on-campus, off-campus, or linkages to mental health services not provided through the campus to students who are attending colleges and universities, including, but not limited to, public community colleges. Outreach and engagement may include, but is not limited to, all of the following:

(1) Meeting the mental health needs of students that cannot be met through existing education funds.

(2) Establishing direct linkages for students to community-based mental health services.

(3) Addressing direct services, including, but not limited to, increasing college mental health staff-to-student ratios and decreasing wait times.

(4) Participating in evidence-based and community-defined best practice programs for mental health services.

(5) Serving underserved and vulnerable populations, including, but not limited to, lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer persons, victims of domestic violence and sexual abuse, and veterans.

(6) Establishing direct linkages for students to community-based mental health services for which reimbursement is available through the students’ health coverage.

(7) Reducing racial disparities in access to mental health services.

(8) Funding mental health stigma reduction training and activities.

(9) Providing college employees and students with education and training in early identification, intervention, and referral of students with mental health needs.

(10) Interventions for youth with signs of behavioral or emotional problems who are at risk of, or have had any, contact with the juvenile justice system.

(11) Integrated youth mental health programming.

(12) Suicide prevention programming.

(g) “Culturally competent and linguistically appropriate prevention and intervention” refers to a program that creates critical linkages with community-based organizations, including, but not limited to, clinics licensed or operated under subdivision (a) of Section 1204 of the Health and Safety Code, or clinics exempt from clinic licensure pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 1206 of the Health and Safety Code.

(1) “Culturally competent and linguistically appropriate” means the ability to reach underserved cultural populations and address specific barriers related to racial, ethnic, cultural, language, gender, age, economic, or other disparities in mental health services access, quality, and outcomes.

(2) “Underserved cultural populations” means those who are unlikely to seek help from any traditional mental health service because of stigma, lack of knowledge, or other barriers, including members of ethnically and racially diverse communities, members of the gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender communities, and veterans, across their lifespans.

(h) “Strategies targeting the mental health needs of older adults” means, but is not limited to, all of the following:

(1) Outreach and engagement strategies that target caregivers, victims of elder abuse, and individuals who live alone.

(2) Suicide prevention programming.

(3) Outreach to older adults who are isolated.

(4) Early identification programming of mental health symptoms and disorders, including, but not limited to, anxiety, depression, and psychosis.

(i) If amendments to the Mental Health Services Act are approved by the voters at the March 5, 2024, statewide primary election, this section shall become inoperative on July 1, 2026, and as of January 1, 2027, is repealed.