
Image by Matthew Ball on unsplash.com
Written by Ben Hensley
The Fresno County Department of Behavioral Health announced Friday it has received notice of awards totaling $67 million in round 1 of grant funding from the California Behavioral Health Infrastructure Bond Act of 2024.
Other local organizations also received grants for a total of $121.3 million for mental health care infrastructure.
Proposition 1, which passed in 2024, proposed statewide reforms and expansion of California’s behavioral health system to replace the Mental Health Services Act of 2024.
Under Prop 1, more than $4 billion in bond funding was earmarked for use in competitive Behavioral Health Continuum Infrastructure Program (BHCIP) grants focusing on treating individuals experiencing mental health and substance use disorders.
Fresno County requested $67 million in grant funding for three projects, allowing the county to meet the ever-increasing demand for mental health services.
In Kings County, Good Samaritan Hospital received a $13.3 million grant to build the Kings County CARE Center crisis stabilization unit.
The Tulare County Health & Human Service Agency Behavioral Health department received nearly $11 million for a residential campus.
Community Health System in Fresno sought nearly $30 million to support its infrastructure and acute care services.
Its $29.7 million award will support the expansion of the Community Behavioral Health Center, increasing psychiatric bed totals from 73 to 107. The award will cover all construction costs, with the project expected to be completed by the end of 2028.
The conditional funds award of $47 million to Fresno County Behavioral Health will grow outpatient capacity at a modern treatment center serving youth and adults accessible to Highway 180, according to a news release. Two other conditional $10 million awards will go to support a psychiatric residential treatment facility to serve youth and young adults, and a psychiatric health facility to support persons with co-occurring mental health and/or severe substance abuse.
Each treatment facility will add 16 new treatment beds.
“We are very grateful for this grant that will help us expand much needed access to acute behavioral health services for patients in the Central Valley,” said Cory Belliston, Community’s chief operating officer, Post-Acute Services. “We are honored to play a role in providing solutions and bringing mental and behavioral health care closer to home for area residents and excited for continued collaboration with our DBH partners.”