Behavioral Health Task Force

About

The California Health & Human Services Agency announced the formation of Governor Gavin Newsom’s Behavioral Health Task Force to address the urgent mental health and substance use disorder needs across California. The panel will advise the Administration’s efforts to advance statewide behavioral health services, prevention, and early intervention to stabilize conditions before they become severe. The mission of the task force is to develop recommendations for the Governor about how California can provide timely access to high-quality behavioral health care for all of its residents.

To learn more, view the Behavioral Health Task Force press release.

For questions, inquiries, or to join the task force listserv, contact BehavioralHealthTaskForce@chhs.ca.gov.

Members

Chair
State Representatives
Task Force Members

Mark Ghaly, MD, MPH. Secretary of the California Health and Human Services Agency

Dr. Tomas Aragon, Department of Public Health
Michelle Baass, Department of Health Care Services
Nancy Bargman, Department of Developmental Services
Stephanie Clendenin, Department of State Hospitals
Susan DeMarois, Department of Aging
Toby Ewing, Mental Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission
Brenda Grealish, Council on Criminal Justice and Behavioral Health
Kim Johnson, Department of Social Services
Elizabeth Landsberg, Department of Health Care Access and Information
Katherine Lucero, Office of Youth and Community Restoration
Dr. Diana Ramos, California Surgeon General
Melissa Stafford-Jones, Children and Youth Behavioral Health Initiative
Tony Thurmond, California Department of Education
Mary Watanabe, Department of Managed Health Care
Joe Xavier, Department of Rehabilitation

Sonya Aadam, California Black Women's Health Project
Lenore Anderson, Californians for Safety and Justice
Seciah Aquino, Latino Coalition for a Healthy California
Sarah Arnquist, Beacon Health Options
Charles Bacchi, California Association of Health Plans
Ken Berrick, Seneca Family of Agencies
Michelle Cabrera, County Behavioral Health Directors Association of California
Le Ondra Clark Harvey, California Council of Community Behavioral Health Agencies
Carmela Coyle, California Hospital Association
Jessica Cruz, NAMI California
Matthew Diep, Mental Health America of California
Vitka Eisen, HealthRIGHT 360
Laila Fahimuddin, California Board of Education
Lishaun Francis, Children Now
Virginia Hedrick, California Consortium for Urban Indian Health
Tanja Heitman, Santa Barbara County Probation Department
Emma Hoo, Pacific Business Group on Health
Andrew Imparato, Disability Rights California
Genie Kim, Graduate, Undergraduate Equity Affairs University of California Office of the President
Linnea Koopmans, Local Health Plans of California
Karen Larsen, Steinberg Institute
Kim Lewis, National Health Law Program
Christine Olmstead, Orange County Department of Education
Elizabeth Oseguera, California Primary Care Association
Hector Ramirez, Disability Rights California
Rebecca Ruan-O’Shaughnessy, California Community Colleges
Cathy Senderling-McDonald, CWDA
Albert Senella, Tarzana Treatment Centers
Christine Stoner-Mertz, California Alliance of Child and Family Services
Mandy Taylor, California LGBTQ Health and Human Services Network
Toni Trigueiro, California Teachers Association
An Chi Tsou, SEIU
Carolina Valle, California Pan-Ethnic Health Network
Marie Webber, UCSD Health
Jackie Wong, First 5 California
Jose Zavala, Fresno Unified School District
Ashley Zucker, Kaiser Permanente

2022 Meeting Dates

All meetings will be held via Zoom webinar from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

December 13, 2022
September 13, 2022
June 14, 2022
March 8, 2022

2023 Meeting Dates

All meetings will be held via Zoom webinar from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

- March 14^th
- June 13^th
- September 12^th
- December 12^th

Meeting Materials

December 13, 2022, 10pm – 3pm

Agenda

December 2, 2022, 12:00 pm – 12:55 pm

September 13, 2022, 10am-3pm

Agenda – August 31, 2022
Video Recording
Presentation

December 7, 2021

October 5, 2021

To view a recording of the meeting, visit Zoom and manually enter the following passcode: t19VehZ%

June 8, 2021

Information Regarding the Children and Youth Behavioral Health Initiative

Additional Meeting Materials

March 9, 2021

January 28, 2021

An audio replay of the meeting is available:

Number: 866-207-1041
Access code: 5789033

August 25, 2020

March 4, 2020

CARE Act

The CARE Act creates a new pathway to deliver mental health and substance use disorder services to the most severely impaired Californians who too often suffer in homelessness or incarceration without treatment. The CARE Act moves care and support upstream, providing the most vulnerable Californians with access to critical behavioral health services, housing and support.

To learn more, visit the CARE Act webpage.