Commission warns May Revision cuts would halve innovation funding and eliminate key advocacy grants

The Commission of Behavioral Health spent much of its May 28 meeting pressing the potential fallout of the governor's May Revision, which staff told commissioners would scale back the Innovation Partnership Fund and eliminate the Community Advocacy Program.

Executive Director Brenda Greyage told the commission the May Revision proposes cutting the Innovation Partnership Fund "from $20 million to $10 million per year," and would eliminate $6.7 million allocated to the Community Advocacy Program. She warned that the combination of a high application volume and reduced funding would "significantly hamper our ability" to launch statewide innovations and could force mid-stream contract disruptions for community advocacy grantees.

Why it matters: commissioners and dozens of public commenters said the two programs are central to the commission's work to bring community-driven, scalable behavioral-health solutions to counties. The Innovation Partnership Fund (IPF) is the commission's primary statewide vehicle for testing and scaling models; the Community Advocacy Program funds grantees that help consumers, families and underserved communities participate in planning and oversight.

Public input: advocates, county officials and service providers urged the commission and state lawmakers to restore the funds. Divia Shiv of the California Alliance of Child and Family Services said the alliance "strongly oppose[d] these proposals in the May revise." Grace Gallagher of Painted Brain asked the commission to center recovery-oriented, peer-informed approaches in public health planning, saying the current prevention framework "appears to rely primarily on a medical and service delivery model rather than a recovery oriented and community-based approach."

Commission reaction and next steps: commissioners repeatedly highlighted the role the IPF and advocacy grants play in equity and statewide implementation. Brenda Greyage outlined the budget timeline: the May Revision was released May 14, hearings were held in mid-May, and the constitutional deadline for passage is June 15; she said staff will report back at the commission's August meeting if cuts remain in the enacted budget.

What was not decided: the commission did not vote to take a formal position in today's meeting on the cuts; commissioners voiced support for protecting the programs and directed staff to continue updates. Any final budget outcome will be decided in the Legislature and in negotiations before the June 15 deadline.