About Us

The California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) is expanding California’s behavioral health (BH) workforce to improve access, engagement, and productive participation in BH services for individuals and communities throughout the state. Through the Behavioral Health Workforce Development (BHWD) initiative, DHCS aims to diversify and enhance the BH workforce across geography, race, ethnicity, language, culture, sexual orientation, gender identification, and other provider characteristics to improve access to BH services by ensuring that communities find themselves represented in their care providers.

Efforts to fund equity and growth in the BH workforce are progressing through four grant-funded projects: Peer Workforce Investment (PWI), Expanding Peer Organization Capacity (EPOC), Mentored Internship Program (MIP), and Behavioral Health Recruitment and Retention (BHRR).

Commitment

DHCS is committed to statewide expansion of the BH workforce to improve access to, and productive participation in, BH services throughout the state. DHCS is simultaneously committed to supporting the diversification of California’s BH workforce with regard to geographic distribution, race, ethnicity, language, culture, sexual orientation, gender identity, and other provider characteristics to support the goal of equity in BH services throughout the state.