Governor Announces Over $900 Million in Grants Available for Behavioral Health Bridge Housing Program
February 23, 2023
On Wednesday, the Governor announced the availability of $907 million in grant funding for county behavioral health agencies (BHAs) under the initial round of the Behavioral Health Bridge Housing (BHBH) program to address the immediate housing and treatment needs of people experiencing homelessness and serious behavioral health conditions, including mental illness and substance use disorders.
The Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) released the associated BHA Request for Applications (attached) yesterday, which provides BHBH program background information, grant eligibility requirements, maximum funding amounts, the application process and timeline, and allowable BHBH program activities. Only the 58 county BHAs in California are eligible to apply for BHBH program funding through this application round.
- Application details: Accessible starting on February 24, 2023, on SurveyMonkey Apply.
- Application timeline: Accepted on a rolling basis until April 28, 2023, at 4:00 p.m., Pacific Time.
- Informational Webinar: March 3, 2023, at 10:00 a.m. (PT). To provide information about both the BHBH program and the county BHA application. Registration is required. The webinar will be recorded and posted on the BHBH program website.
Assembly Bill (AB) 179 (Chapter 249, Statutes of 2022) was signed into law in September 2022, authorizing the BHBH program. The BHBH program provides $1.5 billion in funding through June 30, 2027, to address the immediate housing and treatment needs of people experiencing homelessness who have serious behavioral health conditions. AB 179 requires DHCS to determine the methodology and distribution of the appropriated funds to eligible grantees, which are counties and tribal entities. The anticipated funding rounds are provided below:
|
Release Date |
Funding Amount |
Eligibility |
Type |
|
February 2023 |
$907M |
County BHAs |
Noncompetitive, pre-determined funding distribution |
|
Spring 2023 |
$50M |
Tribal Entities |
Competitive |
|
Summer 2023 |
$50M |
BHAs and Tribal Entities |
Competitive* |
|
FY 2024-25 |
$250M |
BHAs and Tribal Entities |
Competitive* |
|
* These competitive rounds will take into consideration activities accomplished in the initial grant period that may include but are not limited to the number of bridge housing beds active and the number of individuals served in bridge housing |
For the BHBH program, bridge housing is defined as short- and mid-term residential options and serves as a bridge to longer-term housing. The RFA requires that a minimum of 75 percent of funding be expended for bridge housing. The remaining 25 percent can be expended on flexible funding categories of BHBH program administration, outreach, and engagement and bridge housing start-up infrastructure. Note: DHCS may grant requests for exceptions to the budgetary specifications, including the limitations upon start-up infrastructure funding and the requirement that 75 percent of BHBH funds must be used for operating costs, when necessary for the requesting county to achieve the BHBH program goals and objectives.
More information about the program is available at the BHBH program website.
