Behavioral Health Services Act (BHSA) Early Intervention Behavioral Health Services and Supports: Children and Youth (0-25)

Solano County Behavioral Health is soliciting proposals from qualified organizations to provide Behavioral Health Services Act (BHSA) Early Intervention (EI) services for children, youth, and young adults ages 0–25 residing in Solano County. Priority populations may include children, youth, and young adults experiencing early signs of mental health or substance use disorder conditions, homelessness or housing instability, justice or child welfare involvement, elevated behavioral health crisis risk, disparities in behavioral health access and outcomes, LGBTQ+ individuals, and caregivers and families.

Early Intervention services are intended to proactively identify and address behavioral health needs before they escalate into more severe, disabling, or chronic conditions. EI services may be provided to individuals without a formal diagnosis who are experiencing early symptoms or risk factors associated with poor behavioral health outcomes. Programs are intended to function as entry and linkage points to appropriate levels of care, including specialty mental health and substance use disorder services, and should coordinate with Medi-Cal Managed Care Plans (MCPs), healthcare providers, schools and educational systems, public health, child welfare, justice partners, and community organizations to strengthen referral pathways, continuity of care, and equitable outcomes.

Programs funded through this RFP may include outreach and engagement, screening and linkage services, navigation and warm handoffs, crisis referrals, and brief evidence-based treatment interventions delivered through flexible service modalities. Contractors are expected to implement culturally and linguistically responsive services, maintain closed-loop referral and follow-up processes, and support the County’s transition toward increased Medi-Cal billing and long-term sustainability over FYs 2026–2029 through operational readiness for claims-based reimbursement, documentation, compliance, and data reporting requirements.

California is undertaking a historic, multi-year Behavioral Health Transformation (BHT) effort to improve access to care, increase accountability and transparency for publicly funded behavioral health services, and expand the capacity of behavioral health care facilities across the state. Proposition 1 (2024) reforms the Mental Health Services Act (MHSA) into the Behavioral Health Services Act (BHSA) and aligns implementation with other major initiatives, including California Advancing and Innovating Medi-Cal (CalAIM) , BH-CONNECT, CYBHI, Medi-Cal Mobile Crisis, and other statewide continuum and housing efforts.

A central orientation of BHT is a renewed focus on county-administered specialty mental health and substance use disorder services across the lifespan, including adults and older adults, and stronger cross-system collaboration with delivery system partners (including Medi-Cal Managed Care Plans (MCPs), public health, justice partners, and healthcare systems) to reduce disparities, improve timely access, and achieve measurable outcomes.