New Guidebook and Trainings for the Community Planning Process
Amie Miller, PsyD., Executive Director
With feedback and insights from behavioral health directors, community-based organizations and community members, CalMHSA has created a comprehensive guidebook and created two companion trainings on the redesigned county behavioral health community planning process.
Our collaboration with human-centered design firm IDEO — and sponsorship from the Department of Health Care Services — made these new resources possible.
We began this initiative last fall as part of the statewide focus on behavioral health transformation, so the guidebook represents a fresh approach to community planning. It was crafted with a key question in mind: How can we make the community planning process authentic and purposeful, helping counties and their communities rally around priorities that truly matter, and develop an integrated plan that reflects them?
As a result of our conversations with so many of you, it includes clear timelines, structured processes, decision points and tools to help counties lead the way toward a new model for behavioral health in California.
In addition to the digital version, all counties will receive a copy of the guidebook by mail in June.
Much has changed for counties under the Behavioral Health Services Act — and the requirements can be difficult to keep track of — so we’ve also scheduled both a webinar and an in-person workshop to walk you through the process, the tools, and how to make them work in your county.
In-person Workshop June 4
Following that, we’re presenting a full-day, in-person workshop in Sacramento on June 4 with hands-on time to explore tools, frameworks, and strategies for building an engagement approach and calendar tailored to your local context. The workshop will focus on building deeper trust with community members, selecting the right modes of engagement to gather meaningful input, and practical ways to show how community voices shape your Integrated Plan.
As always, we’ll also make sure there’s plenty of time and space to connect with other county leaders and learn from each other.
We also held a 90-minute webinar on May 22 that provided an overview of the community planning process and actionable resources to support your county in leading it. That training emphasized a shared understanding of what’s changing from MHSA to BHSA, an overview of the community planning process, and other useful tools.
May 12, 2025