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CCJBH Projects

View a printable version of CCJBH projects. For more information on these projects, see below.

Lifting the voices of individuals with Lived Experience to inform State and Local-level policy development.

CCJBH received funding from the Mental Health Services Act (MHSA) to increase capacity of those with lived experience, increase education and training opportunities, increase organizational and community awareness, and improve collaborative efforts and partners at the regional/ local-level.

Public Health Meets Public Safety (PH/PS) was a two-year project conducted through a contract with the CSG Justice Center that ended December 31, 2022. The project utilized data to track, monitor and ultimately reduce, the number of adults and young people with behavioral health needs in California’s justice system by marshaling data to inform policy decisions. The CSG Justice Center developed an Open Datasets Inventory that serves as a compilation of current publicly available data related to the justice and behavioral health systems. Additionally, the CSG Justice Center conceptualized and documented an overarching, ideal data reporting framework and developed a data dashboard using available data that is published to CCJBH’s website (see PH/PS Landing Page below) for use by a variety of BH/JI stakeholders to inform their policy- and decision-making.

Products from this project are posted to our publications page.

ph/ps landing page

Individuals with behavioral health needs cycle in and out of the criminal justice system and incur high supervision costs, high health care costs, and poor outcomes. Historically, justice-involved individuals with behavioral health needs are likely to seek Medi-Cal funded behavioral health treatment in the community mental health system, and access to this treatment can, in part, help to improve both criminal justice and health outcomes. The Affordable Care Act expanded access to behavioral health care as many justice-involved individuals became newly eligible for Medi-Cal. The California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) and the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS), which oversees the Medi-Cal program, have made major investments in pre-release enrollment and “warm handoff” between correctional health care and community-based health care services.


The Medi-Cal Utilization Project (MCUP) took place through ongoing collaboration between CDCR and DHCS. Its goals were to track health services access and utilization for individuals who are involved in the criminal justice system and to inform quality improvement efforts as necessary. CCJBH received ongoing funding in FY 2016-17 to support the MCUP. CCJBH currently used that funding to support a Research Scientist III position to lead all projects that involved research expertise, including the MCUP and other related projects, including Public Health Meets Public Safety (funded with State General Funds), which seeks to leverage existing data to inform the development of behavioral health / criminal justice policies. This position enhanced CCJBH’s capacity to issue data-informed recommendations for policy changes and operational improvements. It also supported the general work of CCJBH, including CCJBH meetings, trainings, communication strategies, and the development and dissemination of the annual CCJBH legislative report and recommendations.


Leveraging the Statewide Inter-Agency Data Exchange Agreement, data sharing between CDCR and DHCS was re-authorized in CY 2021, and reporting for the CDCR/DHCS MCUP was conducted for individuals released in Fiscal Year (FY) 2018-19. Data analyses indicate that, even though the majority of individuals transitioning from CDCR facilities are enrolled onto Medi-Cal within one year of release, Medi-Cal beneficiaries transitioning from incarceration with identified behavioral health needs are not utilizing or engaging in behavioral health services at expected rates across all Medi-Cal behavioral health delivery systems, and especially for SUD services. In 2023, CCJBH analyzed Medi-Cal enrollment rates and mental health and substance use disorder services utilization trends for individuals released from CDCR in FY 2019-20. In sum, Medi-Cal enrollment, MCP selection, and service penetration rates remained consistent for individuals released in FYs 2018-19 and 2019-20. These findings continue to inform efforts to ensure that justice-involved individuals are enrolled into Medi-Cal in a timely manner and utilize available behavioral health services.


In 2024 CCJBH examined individuals released in Fiscal Years (FYs) 2020-21 and 2021-22 – to examine demographics, Medi-Cal enrollment, Medi-Cal Managed Care Plan (MCP) selection, and Medi-Cal BH service utilization trends for individuals released each year from FY 2018-19 through FY 2021-22. Overall, Medi-Cal enrollment rates declined in FYs 2019-20 and 2020-21 (the pandemic years) but were back to the previous levels by FY 2021-2022 (which may be attributed to the fact that COVID requirements temporarily halted disenrollments protocols). Whereas the MCP selection rates declined between FY 2018-19 and FY 2019-20 but increased back to previous levels in both FYs 2020-21 and 2021-22. Notably, while service penetration rates for SMHS steadily declined and non-SMHS services remained low, DMC service penetration rates increased. That said, CCJBH remains concerned about the overall low Medi-Cal BH services utilization rates as less than half of the individuals releasing from CDCR with identified BH needs who are enrolled into Medi-Cal receive Medi-Cal BH services within the 12 months of their release. The 2025 MCUP report also examined Medi-Cal Enhanced Care Management (ECM) and Community Supports Services utilization for individuals released from CDCR in FY 2021-22, which serves as a baseline for ECM and Community Supports implementation for individuals released from prison as implementation for these services in the MCP delivery system began in January 2022.

CCJBH remained actively committed to supporting the DHCS California Advancing and Innovating Medi-Cal (CalAIM) initiative, a multi-year effort to improve the quality of life and health outcomes of the Medi-Cal population by implementing broad delivery system, program and payment reforms. 

With the passage of SB 803, Peer Certification, CCJBH embarked on a project to research a certification process for (Justice-Involved Peer Support Specialists (formerly known as Forensic Peer Support Specialists). As part of the information gathering CCJBH staff met with Georgia’s Mental Health Consumers Network, Pennsylvania’s Mental Health Consumers Network, and Yale PRCH. This information is poised to support and inform current efforts to expand the use of peers as this workforce can fill critical gaps to help individuals transitioning from incarceration to their community by aiding in navigation, access and engagement in health/behavioral health services and criminogenic interventions.

As reflected in CCJBH’s 2020 Annual Legislative Report recommendations, CCJBH believes that the use of Forensic Peer Support (FPS) Specialists can be of significant benefit to individuals who are justice-involved and have a mental health and/or substance use disorder. Given the Council’s recommendation, in January 2021, CCJBH embarked on a project to research established and best practices for FPS Specialists to learn more about this profession, including relevant certification standards, and to evaluate how this specialty could be implemented in California. Through their lived experience and specialized training, which goes beyond that of a traditional “peer” provider, a FPS Specialist is able to gain the trust and respect from those they serve, which makes them an important asset to the safety net workforce as they are able to help prepare individuals for reentry into their community after a period of incarceration, assist with activities of daily living, as well as help with navigation through, and engagement in, complex State and local public service delivery systems. Equally important, through mentorship, FPS Specialists can also provide a critical role in the journey of recovery. CCJBH has conducted a review of publicly available resources on FPS models nationwide, core competencies, and specific qualifications for the FSP specialty.

CCJBH believes that the use Justice Involved Peer Support (JIPS) Specialists can be of significant benefit to individuals who are justice-involved and have a mental health and/or SUD. JIPS Specialists are individuals who have lived experience with behavioral health conditions and are, or have been, involved with the justice system. Efforts to date have included meeting with experts from various states and research into where successful JIPS efforts are implemented throughout the counties. Additionally, CCJBH staff continued to participate in CalMHSA’s Medi-Cal Peer Support Specialty Advisory Committee meetings and have provided information to CalMHSA outlining feedback on the Justice-Involved Peer Support Specialty eligibility requirements and core competencies.

To support CCJBH efforts in the area of juvenile justice realignment, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR)/ California Correctional Health Care Services released Request for Proposal #SD21-00049 in December 2021, inviting proposals from qualified contractors to develop a compendium, toolkit and training plan to support youth who have traditionally been remanded to the CDCR Division of Juvenile Justice, but who, as of July 1, 2021, remain at the county level under the jurisdiction of county probation as a result of Senate Bill (SB) 823. The contract was completed by RAND, a non-profit policy research institute, and the term was from April 13, 2022, to April 19, 2024.

Contract Deliverables:

  • Develop the California Juvenile Justice Toolkit (Toolkit) that compiles current, relevant information regarding the established practice and programs designed to serve the realigned population and other levels of juvenile justice system involvement.
    • The information gathered for the Toolkit was incorporated into a Tableau Dashboard and published as a draft in October 2023.
  • Expand the Toolkit with information that counties may use to plan for the necessary infrastructure and capacity to implement the programs and practices identified.
  • Provide a Training and Technical Assistance Plan that counties may use to secure the relevant training and technical assistance to assist them in the implementation of the evidence-based and emerging programs and practices detailed in the Toolkit. This was also completed in April 2024.

The work done through the contract will complement and support the efforts of the Office of Youth and Community Restoration and serve as a key resource for SB 823 Juvenile Justice Realignment.

The Diversion Technical Assistance Services contract was awarded to the Council of State Governments (CSG) Justice Center on June 21, 2021, and ended on June 30, 2022.  As part of this one-year contract, CSG provided subject matter expert specialty consultation services and technical assistance to a minimum of 20 counties that focused on enhancing, sustaining and/or expanding local capacity to successfully implement mental health diversion. Similarly, CSG participated and facilitated a portion of 12 collaboration meetings that assessed what is and isn’t working within local diversion systems and examine impacts of COVID-19 on diversion efforts. As part of these efforts, the CSG Justice Center developed the A Statewide Look at Mental Health Diversion: Recommendations to California’s Council on Criminal Justice and Behavioral Health Report

CCJBH collaborated with key partners to further efforts to study strategies to improve housing outcomes for individuals in the intersection of criminal justice and behavioral health.

  • CCJBH, along with CDCR’s Division of Adult Parole Operations (DAPO), was assigned to provide “key staff” support to the CDCR Secretary, who is a statutorily appointed Cal ICH Councilmember. CCJBH works with DAPO and the CDCR Division of Adult Programs (DRP) to provide quarterly reports on the progress of CDCR’s commitments that are specified in Cal ICH’s Action Plan for Preventing and Ending Homelessness in California.
  • CCJBH worked with the Council of State Governments (CSG) Justice Center to implement the policy recommendations established in CSG’s report, Reducing Homelessness for People with Behavioral Health Needs Leaving Prisons and Jails.
  • CCJBH, in partnership with the CSG Justice Center, hosted a Housing Report Launch event on August 18, 2021.
  • The CSG report recommendations were included in the HCFC Action Plan under “Activities Prioritized for Implementation.”
  • CCJBH facilitated collaborative partnerships with the Department of Housing and Community Development on their COVID-19 Rental Assistance Program (Housing Is Key), linking DAPO, Probation, and Medi-Cal partners in Managed Care and County Behavioral Health to information and resources related to the rental assistance application process.
  1. CCJBH engaged stakeholders in a listening session on November 3, 2021, to solicit feedback on the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH) in the process of updating the Federal Strategic Plan to Prevent and End Homelessness. CCJBH received input from a broad range of perspectives regarding barriers and best practices to combat homelessness for the behavioral health and justice involved population and shared the draft response CCJBH developed. On November 30, 2021, CCJBH submitted the final response to the USICH website response portal and send the response to the USICH Policy Director.
  2. With the support of the California Health Care Foundation, CCJBH and CSG hosted a webinar series focused on how key stakeholders from across the justice, behavioral health, housing, and other systems can help people successfully transition out of the justice system and into the community by connecting them with housing options that meet their needs. The series, entitled Building Blocks for Coming Home: How California Communities Can Create Housing Opportunities for People with Complex Needs Leaving the Justice System, consisted of 5 webinars which took place from December 2021 to April 2022. View additional information on the webinar series.

Additional products from this project are posted to our publications page

CCJBH tracked legislation of interest to our mission to promote early intervention, access to
effective treatments, a planned re-entry and the preservation of public safety. For a complete list
of the legislation tracked by CCJBH this year, please view our Legislative Update

CCJBH has created a detailed budget summaries that highlight the
funding allocation for the justice-involved population who have behavioral health needs. The full enacted budget can may be accessed on the California Budget website.