California Funds 15 New Behavioral Health Treatment Projects

California announced 15 new behavioral health treatment projects that reached construction or opening milestones in mid-2026. While The Golden State has an abundance of existing services for mental and behavioral health conditions, recent legislative moves had proposed cutting the budget for mental health services. This initiative addresses those potential gaps.

Several were built specifically for people whose mental health and substance use needs arrive together. For anyone searching for dual diagnosis treatment, that design detail matters more than the funding total.

All projects received funds through the Behavioral Health Continuum Infrastructure Program, known as BHCIP, via Proposition 1 general funds. The California Department of Health Care Services oversees all these programs.

Mental Health Connects with Addictions

The clearest example is in Marin County, where the county Department of Health and Human Services opened a project in San Rafael explicitly framed around adults with co-occurring disorders. It establishes a 15-bed adult residential substance use disorder treatment facility, supported by nearly $8 million.

That framing reflects what clinicians see. Substance use disorders and conditions like depression, anxiety, and loneliness co-occur often enough that treating one while ignoring the other tends to produce a revolving door. A person stabilized for withdrawal and discharged without treatment for untreated panic disorder receives only half of what they needed.

Understanding Dual Diagnosis

Dual diagnosis, also called co-occurring disorders, describes having a substance use disorder alongside a mental health condition. The two interact work in tandem rather than sit side by side. Substance use can worsen or mask psychiatric symptoms, and untreated psychiatric conditions commonly drive continued use.

Integrated treatment addresses both conditions in one program with one coordinated team, rather than sending someone to separate providers who never speak to each other. Ask a prospective program directly whether it treats both and whether they have a psychiatrist or psychiatric nurse practitioner on staff.

The New Capacity

Several other projects extend residential and crisis capacity for folks with combined needs. In Santa Cruz County, Encompass Community Services opened residential withdrawal management and transitional age youth capacity with up to 15 beds and an outpatient program. In Riverside County, A.B.C. Recovery Center opened a residential facility with 120 beds and outpatient care in Indio.

On the mental health side, WellSpace Health broke ground on a 200-bed Mental Health Rehabilitation Center in Sacramento County, and Contra Costa County broke ground on a 45-bed facility of the same type. Tulare County’s Kaweah Delta Health Care District added 22 inpatient child and adolescent beds in Visalia.

Rural and tribal capacity also expanded. In Humboldt County, the Yurok Tribe broke ground on the Wah-Sekw-Won Treatment Center to construct 53 inpatient residential beds, adult residential substance use disorder treatment, and outpatient behavioral health. In Tuolumne County, a project in Jamestown will add 24 outpatient slots focused on opioid treatment services.

Scale of the Investment

Since 2021, the state reports awarding $5.8 billion across more than 437 projects and 546 facilities. Officials plan to create more than 9,553 beds and more than 47,163 outpatient slots serving over 5.4 million people annually. Through bond funding, the state has committed nearly 6,200 residential treatment beds and 27,500+ outpatient slots, exceeding statewide Proposition 1 goals after two years. Since 2024, 97 BHCIP-funded facilities have broken ground and 41 have opened and are operating.

California Health and Human Services Agency Secretary Kim Johnson noted the state is “bringing treatment, crisis care, and recovery services within reach for more families.”

However, beds announced aren’t beds available today. Groundbreakings and awards precede opening by months or years, and outpatient slot counts are projections rather than current capacity.

Comprehensive Treatment in California and Beyond

If you’re looking for care that addresses both mental health and addiction, ask whether a program provides integrated dual diagnosis treatment, which evidence-based therapies it offers, and whether it accepts Medi-Cal or your insurance. County behavioral health departments are the entry point for publicly funded care in California.

That’s where we come in. Feel free to browse our directory to find mental and behavioral treatment centers and dual diagnosis programs by location and level of care.

Feel free to also call 800-908-4823 (Sponsored) to speak with an expert and explore treatment options.

Author

Eric Owens

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Eric Owens has been a writer and editor for various businesses as well as his own successful websites. He has extensive experience creating content in the health and wellness space and the sustainability space. He holds a bachelor degree in Philosophy which helped him with presenting complex information in a simple way that all audiences can understand.

Editor

Peter Lee, PhD

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Peter W.Y. Lee is a writer and historian of American history during the Cold War. His primary focus is the relationship between youth and popular culture and its impact on U.S. society during the twentieth century. He has published widely on how the public has used popular culture as a mechanism to address political and social shifts throughout time