(a) (1) Each county shall establish and administer an early intervention program that is designed to prevent mental illnesses and substance use disorders from becoming severe and disabling and to reduce disparities in behavioral health.
(2) Early intervention programs shall be funded pursuant to clause (ii) of subparagraph (A) of paragraph (3) of subdivision (a) of Section 5892.
(b) An early intervention program shall include the following components:
(1) Outreach to families, employers, primary care health care providers, behavioral health urgent care, hospitals, inclusive of emergency departments, education, including early care and learning, T-12, and higher education, and others to recognize the early signs of potentially severe and disabling mental health illnesses and substance use disorders.
(2) (A) Access and linkage to medically necessary care provided by county behavioral health programs as early in the onset of these conditions as practicable.
(B) Access and linkage to care includes the scaling of, and referral to, the Early Psychosis Intervention (EPI) Plus Program, pursuant to Part 3.4 (commencing with Section 5835), Coordinated Specialty Care, or other similar evidence-based practices and community-defined evidence practices for early psychosis and mood disorder detection and intervention programs.
(3) (A) Mental health and substance use disorder treatment services, evidence-based practices and community-defined evidence practices for similar to those provided under other programs that are effective in preventing mental health illnesses and substance use disorders from becoming severe, and components similar to programs that have been successful in reducing the duration of untreated serious mental health illnesses and substance use disorders and assisting people in quickly regaining productive lives.
(B) Mental health treatment services may include services to address first episode psychosis.
(C) Mental health and substance use disorder services shall include services that are demonstrated to be effective at meeting the cultural and linguistic needs of diverse communities.
(D) Mental health and substance use disorder services may be provided to the following eligible children and youth:
(i) Individual children and youth at high risk for a behavioral health disorder due to experiencing trauma, as evidenced by scoring in the high-risk range under a trauma screening tool such as an adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) screening tool, involvement in the child welfare system or juvenile justice system, or experiencing homelessness.
(ii) Individual children and youth in populations with identified disparities in behavioral health outcomes.
(E) Mental health and substance use services may include services that prevent, respond to, or treat a behavioral health crisis.
(4) Additional components developed by the State Department of Health Care Services.
(c) (1) The State Department of Health Care Services, in consultation with the Behavioral Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission, counties, and stakeholders, shall establish a biennial list of evidence-based practices and community-defined evidence practices that may include practices identified pursuant to the Children and Youth Behavioral Health Initiative Act set forth in Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 5961) of Part 7.
(2) Evidence-based practices and community-defined evidence practices may focus on addressing the needs of those who decompensate into severe behavioral health conditions.
(3) Local programs utilizing evidence-based practices and community-defined evidence practices may focus on addressing the needs of underserved communities, such as BIPOC and LGBTQ+.
(4) Counties shall utilize the list to determine which evidence-based practices and community-defined evidence practices to implement locally.
(5) The State Department of Health Care Services may require a county to implement specific evidence-based and community-defined evidence practices.
(d) The early intervention program shall emphasize the reduction of the likelihood of:
(1) Suicide and self-harm.
(2) Incarcerations.
(3) School, including early childhood 0 to 5 years of age, inclusive, TK-12, and higher education, suspension, expulsion, referral to an alternative or community school, or failure to complete.
(4) Unemployment.
(5) Prolonged suffering.
(6) Homelessness.
(7) Removal of children from their homes.
(8) Overdose.
(9) Mental illness in children and youth from social, emotional, developmental, and behavioral needs in early childhood.
(e) For purposes of this section, “substance use disorder” shall have the meaning as defined in subdivision (c) of Section 5891.5.
(f) For purposes of this section, “community-defined evidence practices” is defined as an alternative or complement to evidence-based practices, that offers culturally anchored interventions that reflect the values, practices, histories, and lived-experiences of the communities they serve. These practices come from the community and the organizations that serve them and are found to yield positive results as determined by community consensus over time.
(g) This section shall become operative on July 1, 2026, if amendments to the Mental Health Services Act are approved by the voters at the March 5, 2024, statewide primary election.
(Amended (as added by Stats. 2023, Ch. 790, Sec. 50) by Stats. 2024, Ch. 40, Sec. 39. (SB 159) Effective June 29, 2024. Operative July 1, 2026, by its own provisions.)