News/Issues

Board & Commission News

1. ​Board & Commission News
2. Children's Issues
3. Co-Occurring with Mental Illness
   1. Dementia
   2. Developmental Disabilities
   3. Substance Use Disorder
   4. Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)
4. ​Cultural Issues​
5. Disaster Recovery
6. Employment
7. Homeless/Housing
8. Jails/Prisons
9. Laura's Law
10. Law Enforcement
11. Legislation
12. LGBTQ
13. Navigator Programs
14. Parity
15. Patients' Rights
16. Peer Supports
17. Seniors
18. Stigma
19. Substance Use Disorder​
20. ​Suicide
21. ​Veterans
22. Whole Person Care
23. Workforce​​
24. Youth Issues (ages 16-25)​

WIC Updates due to Prop 1 - Boards/Commissions should update their bylaws and membership rosters by January 1, 2025. See WIC Page

Brown Act Updates - See Brown Act Page 

WIC 5604 Update - 2022

• Veteran Requirement:  One member shall be a veteran or veteran advocate (For counties with a population of 100,000 or more )
• Veteran Encouragement: A county shall give a strong preference to appointing at least one member of the board who is a veteran or a veteran advocate. (For counties with a population fewer than 100,000)
• Vacancy Notification:  A county shall notify its county veterans service officer about vacancies on the board, if a county has a veterans service officer.
• Definition:  “Veteran advocate” means either a parent, spouse, or adult child of a veteran, or an individual who is part of a veterans organization, including the Veterans of Foreign Wars or the American Legion.  

WIC Update - 2020
The CA government updated Welfare & Institution Code for local mental/behavioral health boards & commissions in the following areas: Bylaws, Duties, MHSA Duties, Expenses, Membership
​
Mental Health Consumers can work for County AND serve on Boards/Commissions - 2015: ​There is an important change affecting all CA Mental & Behavioral Health Boards and Commissions. This change affects the criteria for members of Mental/Behavioral Health Boards. Consumers (adults with mental illness) who work for County Mental Health (or contractors) can now be appointed to boards, provided certain criteria are met.