California cannot shirk its duty of funding youth mental health after Prop. 1 passage | Opinion

After a close vote, Proposition 1 will soon be the law of the land in California. The two-part ballot measure allows counties to fund the construction of outpatient mental health and substance abuse treatment centers, as well as housing for chronically homeless individuals. Prop. 1 also reforms the 2004 Mental Health Services Act — the so-called “millionaires’ tax” — and proposes a new name: the “Behavioral Health Services Act.”

Public discussions on Prop. 1 have largely focused on how it will impact the adult homeless population; but one key aspect of the proposition has received less attention: funding for children’s mental health.

Over the last 20 years, the millionaires’ tax has funded community-based organizations that supported the mental health of youth and families, earning their trust. This long-standing trust is what many mental health advocates fought to maintain when the administration first proposed the restructuring of Prop 1.

The ease with which the state was able to overhaul a decades-long community-led initiative should signal a warning to children’s mental health advocates: Persistent and aggressive advocacy is needed to maintain the programs that we know work.

While Prop. 1 does shift funds away from the programs communities have come to support, a fierce coalition of children’s advocates (including Children Now, the organization where I work) fought to protect California’s youngest residents, and were able to maintain a key piece of the funding: Namely, the requirement to spend at least 51% of prevention and early intervention behavioral health funds on Californians who are 25 years of age or younger.

The final product now reassigns fiscal responsibility for prevention and early intervention: Under Prop. 1, prevention services (previously administered by counties) will now be administered by the state, while decisions about early intervention will continue to be made by counties.

Without services that can help identify and treat mental health issues early, children with mental health disorders have problems at home, in school and in their communities. These issues often last into adulthood. We’re all well aware of the crisis of mental health that our young people are facing. With 57% of non-fatal self-harm emergency department visits among California residents occurring among those ages 10-24, the importance of prevention and early intervention for children and youth cannot be understated.

Prior to the passage of Proposition 1, while the millionaires’ tax required counties to spend at least 51% of Prevention and Early Intervention funds on children, many counties didn’t reach that threshold. Without children’s mental health advocates continuously reminding both the state and counties of their obligation, both entities can skirt their responsibility on the minimum percentage for children’s mental health.

That means that advocates must be more than just diligent, we must be aggressive in ensuring both California county and state governments are spending the required minimum percentage on children and youth.

It will be tempting for the state and counties to use their funds to try to backfill for more politically expedient services, such as mental health and addiction treatment services for the adult homeless population. However, children’s advocates will have to show up to their County Board of Supervisor meetings and attend state coalition meetings to and ask: “Is California taking care of our children?”

Going forward, a reversal of fortune for California’s millionaires should be the only thing that impacts funding for kids’ behavioral health services. Despite the passage of Prop. 1, counties and the state are still required to spend over $350 million per year, assuming Fiscal Year 23-24 budget levels. We must hold policymakers accountable in fulfilling that responsibility to kids.

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