January 11, 2024

Below are several updates related to the Community Assistance, Recovery, and Empowerment (CARE) Act to bring to your attention:

CARE Act Data Collection and Reporting: Data File Submission and Quality Assurance Process Overview – January 17

A targeted training for Cohort I (Glenn, Orange, Riverside, San Diego, San Francisco, Stanislaus,  and Tuolumne counties) and Los Angeles County program staff who have a role in the CARE Act Data Collection and Reporting process will take place on Wednesday, January 17 at 12:30 pm. This training will provide an alternative mechanism to SurveyMonkey for submitting CARE participant data to the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS). It builds on the previous CARE Act Data Collection and Reporting training titled Mechanisms for Data Submission and SurveyMonkey Demonstration. This training will provide an overview of the MOVEit platform, a tutorial of the required file template format that will be used to submit bulk data for CARE participants (offered as an alternative to submitting via SurveyMonkey), and a summary of the quality assurance protocol for verifying data submitted by county behavioral health agencies. Registration information for the training was shared with existing Cohort I Data Collection and Reporting contacts. Appropriate county staff who have not received registration information can do so by sending an email to info@care-act.org.

Invitation to Comment on Proposed Revisions to CARE Act Rules/Forms – Due January 19

The Judicial Council has issued an invitation to comment on revisions to various CARE Act rules and forms to reflect recent legislative updates. The CARE Act Rule Amendments and Form Revisions are posted for public comment here. Comments are to be submitted to the Judicial Council by 5:00 p.m. on Friday, January 19, 2024.

Senate Bill 35 (Chapter 283, Statutes of 2023) was signed into law on September 30, 2023, and took immediate effect as an urgency statute. SB 35 was intended to clarify ambiguities and make technical corrections to the initiating statutes of the CARE Act under SB 1338 (Chapter 319, Statutes of 2022). Advisory Committees of the Judicial Council propose to amend four rules of court and revise seven forms to implement the provisions of SB 35, which amended both substantive and procedural aspects of the CARE Act. Details of the proposed changes are outlined starting on page 3 of the Judicial Council’s Invitation to Comment (W24-03). These documents have also been distributed to county counsel for their review and feedback.

Virtual Cohort II Kickoff: Thursday, January 25

Cohort II county behavioral health agencies are invited to a virtual Cohort II kickoff meeting on Thursday, January 25 from 9:00 am – 10:30 am. Attendees should include those who will be part of the CARE Act implementation teams including leadership, behavioral health clinical staff, data analysts, accounting/finance, and administration. Information will be shared about the Cohort II timeline, lessons learned from Cohort I, an overview of the CARE process and roles (including the Judicial Council of California), available training and technical assistance opportunities, and data collection and reporting requirements. The registration link will be emailed to Cohort II counties separately. If you do not receive the registration information, please email info@care-act.org.

CARE Act Quarter 4 Implementation Update Posted

The California Health and Human Services Agency (CalHHS) has posted the 2023 Quarter 4 CARE Act Implementation Update to its website here. The quarterly update summarizes progress made on CARE Act implementation through December 2023, including recently developed resources and upcoming activities/trainings.

Additional resources on CARE implementation activities, resources for county behavioral health agencies, counsel, volunteer supporters, and other stakeholders can be found at the CARE Act Resource Center website.