Mental Health Planning Council

The California Mental Health Planning Council is mandated by federal and state statute to advocate for children with serious emotional disturbances and adults and older adults with serious mental illness, to provide oversight and accountability for the public mental health system, and to advise the Administration and the Legislature on priority issues and participate in statewide planning.

What's New?

Foster Care Study Report - October 2007 This report was developed pursuant to a statutory mandate that the California Mental Health Planning Council review and monitor the implementation of counties' efforts to improve the provision and quality of mental health services to foster children.

Analysis of Data: State Hospital Seclusion and Restraint Data State hospitals collect data regarding the use of seclusion and restraint and walking restraint. This is a summary of that data. - 12/17/2007

Vision Statement

The CMHPC envisions a public mental health system that offers excellent, effective, and affordable consumer and family-driven mental health services that are timely, accessible, and appropriate for all of California's diverse populations.

Mission Statement

The CMHPC, a multicultural consumer, family, provider, and advocate organization:

• Provides oversight to the Department of Mental Health regarding accessibility, availability, and accountability of the State's mental health system
• Advocates for accessible, timely, appropriate, and effective services, which are culturally competent, age and gender appropriate, strengths-based, and recovery-oriented
• Educates the public and the mental health constituency about the current needs for public mental health services and ways to meet those needs

History

Since the 1960s California has had a statewide advisory board operating independently from the State Department of Mental Health to provide public input into mental health policy development and planning. The current entity, the California Mental Health Planning Council, was established in state statute in 1993 in response to the realignment of mental health program responsibility and funding. (Welfare and Institutions Code 5771 et seq.) In addition to establishing a dedicated funding base for mental health services, realignment provided county governments with greater autonomy and flexibility in managing their local mental health programs. The Planning Council was designed to be an appropriate structure for public input, planning, and evaluation under realigned mental health programs.