Mental Health Services Act

The implementation of the California Mental Health Services Act (MHSA) represents a significant legislative wave of change for mental health services to children, adults, and seniors who are suffering with severe chronic mental health conditions. It aims to expand the state's mental health system by taxing millionaires and providing MHSA funds to create innovative preventative and Full-Service Programs (FSPs). This initiative provides better service delivery options to the underserved and chronically ill population to assist with long-term care. Furthermore, the MHSA expands access to services by designing new behavioral health programs and integrating new approaches for mentally ill individuals to ensure their needs are met. This paper intends to conduct a policy analysis of the Mental Health Service Act, Proposition 63, to analyze how affectively it has addressed the issues of inadequate mental health services. In doing so, the researchers will explore the social problem that led to the policy and contribute to existing knowledge by further examining the context, planning, programming, and evaluation of the policy. In addition, the researchers will analyze the progress of the amended policy in 2018.