Key Takeaways
- State law requires counties to use community-defined evidence practices (CDEP) in Full Service Partnership programs.
- Medi-Cal pays for specialty mental health services from unlicensed staff, though payment covers only Medi-Cal members and leaves out community programs open to everyone.
- The state’s new performance measures track evidence-based practices but have no matching measure for CDEPs, and through 2028 they will count only Medi-Cal members receiving core clinical services.
As California implements the Behavioral Health Services Act (BHSA), counties, community-based organizations, and state agencies are navigating significant changes in how behavioral health services are funded, delivered, and evaluated.
Building on the foundation of the Mental Health Services Act, BHSA expands the scope of behavioral health services to include substance use disorders, strengthens alignment with Medi-Cal, introduces new planning and accountability requirements, and places increased emphasis on measurable outcomes and system performance. At the same time, BHSA continues California’s long-standing commitment to equity and early intervention.
Community-defined evidence practices (CDEPs) are culturally anchored interventions that come from the communities they serve and are validated by community consensus.
CDEPs sit at the intersection of several BHSA priorities — advancing equity, improving culturally responsive care, strengthening community engagement, supporting early intervention, and reducing disparities in behavioral health outcomes. These practices have been shown to increase access to mental health services, improve outcomes, and strengthen a community’s capacity to respond to its own needs.
This issue brief, Community-Defined Evidence Practices Under the Behavioral Health Services Act, supports multiple groups that are involved in BHSA planning, implementation, funding, and oversight. This includes county behavioral health leadership, community-based organization leaders, and California state health agency staff. It was researched and written by analysts at Third Sector with support from the California Health Care Foundation.
