As your county prepares to develop an Integrated Plan for the 2026–2029 fiscal years to meet BHSA implementation requirements, complex changes in planning and reporting may seem daunting.

One of the most impactful changes is that counties must now report on all behavioral health funding sources and services. These include local, state, and federally funded services such as opioid settlement funds, realignment, and Medi-Cal behavioral health programs. You can read more in our Prop 1/BHSA overview.

The MHSA to BHSA transition will require significant new and expanded investments in community and partner engagement, cross-agency coordination, and data tracking and reporting.

Adding to the challenge, DHCS recently announced a draft submission deadline of March 31, 2026 in addition to the June deadline for the final three-year Integrated Plan.

An expertly designed roadmap can help your county navigate hurdles like accurate data reporting and data integration across multiple agencies, ensuring equity and compliance in community engagement strategies, and adapting to new reporting requirements.

What assistance will your county need? You’ll need a team who brings experience and expert guidance to these areas:

• Cross-agency planning: Partnering with your agency to identify, plan, and facilitate tailored activities (e.g., interviews and workgroups) to engage partners in key county and community-based agencies across the expanded list of systems and stakeholders included in the new BHSA planning and reporting requirements.

• Community Program Planning (CPP) process:

  • Collaborating with both behavioral health and multi-agency partners to identify, plan, and implement community engagement opportunities (e.g., listening sessions, town halls, and surveys) to understand experiences and needs.

  • Capturing and analyzing qualitative and quantitative community feedback data to inform your three-year Integrated Plan.

• Strategic planning: Supporting your agency in developing a strategic plan to meet BHSA requirements—which includes integrating all local, state, and federal behavioral health funding and services as well as the results of other local planning efforts, and how your county’s behavioral health dollars will be spent across BHSA’s updated continuum of care.

• Integrated Plan development: Leading the development, drafting, and finalization of your county’s BHSA three-year Integrated Plan, including new BHSA report sections, such as Care Continuum Capacity and Workforce Strategy.

Do you have the right supports in place for this work?

Learn more about BHSA implementation and the support that is available from RDA Consulting. Schedule a call today!