Allocating Equality: EPSDT, Realignment, California and Foster Care

The California Senate Budget Subcommittee on Health and Human Services heard testimony Monday, May 18th, on proposed changes to the methodology used to allocate 2011 Realignment Behavioral Health Growth funding to county mental health programs.

The Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) is considering submitting a recommendation to the Department of Finance (DOF), the agency ultimately responsible for setting the methodology, to distribute growth funding based almost entirely on historical spending patterns. The Medi-Cal Early and Periodic, Screening, Diagnosis and Treatment (EPSDT) specialty mental health program, a core component of California’s public mental health system for children, took central focus at yesterday’s hearing. Read more.