Existing law establishes the California Health and Human Services Agency, under the direction of the Secretary of California Health and Human Services, which includes, among other departments, the State Department of Public Health and the State Department of Health Care Services. Existing law establishes the Children and Youth Behavioral Health Initiative, which is administered by the agency and its departments and declares the purpose of the initiative to be to transform the state’s behavioral health system into an innovative ecosystem in which all children and youth 25 years of age and younger, regardless of payer, are screened, supported, and served for emerging and existing behavioral health needs.

This bill would state the intent of the Legislature to enact future legislation that would increase access to behavioral health services for children and youth 25 years of age and younger.