June 27, 2024

Strategies for Outreach and Engagement for County BH and Counsel/Court – Wednesday, July 10 at 9:30 am

A training for county behavioral health and counsel/courts on Strategies for Outreach and Engagement in CARE is scheduled for Wednesday, July 10 at 9:30 a.m. During the session, presenters will offer best practices and practical strategies for effective outreach and engagement to CARE participants. All stakeholders are welcome to attend.

The subsequent open-forum discussion on Thursday, July 11 at 9:30 a.m. is intended for all stakeholders involved in the CARE Act process, including county BH agencies and counsel/courts, to ask questions, discuss topics needing clarification, and share ideas and thoughts.

Register here for both the training and open-forum discussion.

Data Submission Options Live Training – Tuesday, August 6 at 11:00 am

A live training for Cohort II county behavioral health and data teams members involved in CARE Act data collection and reporting will take place on Tuesday, August 6 at 11:00 am. The HMA data team will provide live demonstrations of the SurveyMonkey platform and MOVEit file transfer application. The data file template options will also be presented. This training will provide an opportunity to ask questions, discuss topics needing clarification, and share ideas and thoughts. Register here.

Cohort II Implementation Readiness Open-Forum: Strategies and Updates – Tuesday August 20 at 9:00 am

A virtual open-forum for county behavioral health and counsel/courts on Implementation Readiness is scheduled for Tuesday, August 20 from 9:00 – 10:00 am. CARE Act stakeholders will be joining this open-forum including the California Health and Human Services (CalHHS) Agency, Judicial Council of California (JC), Department of Health Care Services (DHCS), Legal Services Trust Fund Commission (LSTFC), and Health Management Associates (HMA). The open-forum will also include an update on the Cohort II CARE Act County Implementation Status Survey results for Quarter 2 of 2024 (April-June) and an implementation readiness panel discussion with time for open Q&A. The registration link will be shared directly with Cohort II county behavioral health and courts/counsel. For more information, email info@care-act.org.

New Resource- Communications Toolkit for County Behavioral Health

The recently released Communications Toolkit has been updated to include an unbranded “best of” CARE deck that counties can use when speaking to internal and external stakeholders in their counties. The broader Communications Toolkit contains a guidance document that includes an overview of communications best practices; examples of various tactics from no-cost to high-cost; and templated materials (e.g., press release, social media posts, talking points, flyer).

County behavioral health agencies should contact their HMA county liaisons or email info@CARE-Act.org to be connected with this resource.  

New Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) added to CARE Act Resource Center

An FAQ related to the impact of Senate Bill 43 on the CARE Act has been added to the Resource Center. Questions featured are a selection of those asked during trainings, submitted via feedback forms, and through engagement with stakeholders. The FAQ page can be found here.

Additional Data FAQs have been added to the CARE Act Data Collection and Reporting Resources page that provide guidance on employment status, volunteer supporter presence, and reporting on CARE agreements and CARE plans. The Data Collection and Reporting FAQs can be found here.