January 15th, 2026
| Honorable Jesse Gabriel (Chair) Assembly Committee on Budget 1021 O Street, Suite 8230 Sacramento, CA 95814 | Honorable John Laird (Chair) Senate Budget and Fiscal Review Committee 1020 N. Street, Room 502 Sacramento, CA 95814 |
| Honorable Dawn Addis (Chair) Assembly Budget Subcommittee #1 – Health 1021 O. Street, Suite 4120 Sacramento, CA 95814 | Honorable Caroline Menjivar (Chair) Senate Budget Subcommittee #3 – Health and Human Services 1021 O Street, Suite 6630 Sacramento, CA 95814 |
| Honorable Mia Bonta Assembly Budget Subcommittee #1 – Health 1020 N. Street, Suite 390 Sacramento, CA 95814 | Honorable Akilah Weber Senate Budget Subcommittee #3 – Health and Human Services 1021 O Street, Suite 7310 Sacramento, CA 95814 |
| Honorable Pilar Schiavo Assembly Budget Subcommittee #1 – Health 1021 O. Street, Suite 4140 Sacramento, CA 95814 |
Re: Opposition to FY26-27 Budget Proposal to Eliminate the Statewide Medi-Cal Mobile Crisis Benefit & Request to Fully Fund the CalHope/California Peer-Run Warm Line
Dear Budget Subcommittee Chairs and Members,
While we recognize that California is facing a budget deficit, the Governor’s 26-27 January Budget Proposal fails to provide Californians with two essential, cost-effective community-based crisis response and preventative behavioral health services. We urge you to fully fund these two vital programs.
- Maintain the statewide Medi-Cal mobile crisis benefit
Currently, the statewide Medi-Cal Mobile Crisis benefit provides critical, timely, and coordinated behavioral health crisis support throughout the state. Since its establishment, mobile crisis teams have successfully diverted individuals experiencing behavioral health crises from emergency departments and law enforcement involvement. Mobile crisis teams have contributed to a significant reduction in arrests and involuntary psychiatric holds, which can be traumatic and have lasting negative impacts on individuals and their families. Mobile crisis teams are now an integral component of community efforts to address homelessness, substance use conditions, as well as the youth mental health crisis.
Attempting to reduce the state’s share of the cost to provide this benefit, the proposed budget shifts the financial responsibility to counties by making this vital service optional for counties to provide. Counties are currently struggling to implement the Behavioral Health Services Act (BHSA), which will shift $1 billion in funding from mental health services to housing. Counties will now be faced with painful decisions regarding whether to scale back or eliminate the mobile crisis benefit entirely, leaving many Californians experiencing a behavioral health crisis vulnerable to arrests, self-harm, and involuntary psychiatric holds.
- Fully fund the CalHope/California Peer Run Warmline
The CalHope /California Peer Run Warm Line provides a 24/7, peer-led, trauma-informed, culturally competent, and non-crisis emotional support to stabilize individuals and prevent escalation to a crisis. In 24-25, the Warm Line received $15 million and served over 400,000 Californians. 95% of callers were able to be referred to appropriate services, and only less than 1% of calls required a transfer to crisis services.
In 25-26, the Warm Line received a significant budget cut. The service was no longer able to operate 24/7, the Spanish only line was eliminated, and due to capacity issues was only able to support less than 100,000 calls, leaving hundreds of thousands of other Californians at risk of experiencing a crisis.
Mental Health America of California (MHAC) urges you to fully fund California’s ability to respond to a behavioral health crisis and prevent new crises from manifesting. The Office of Emergency Services may have the potential to increase the 988 Surcharge Rate to equal the 911 Surcharge Rate generating upwards of $1 billion that can fund crisis call centers, mobile crisis response teams, and related infrastructure, allowing for the 988 mobile crisis benefit to remain a statewide benefit. The California Department of Public Health will receive approximately $120 million from the BHSA for population-based prevention. These funds can be used to fully fund the California Warm Line and restore capacity to 2024-25 levels.
If you have any questions or if MHAC can provide any assistance, please do not hesitate to contact me at kvicari@mhac.org or our Public Policy Coordinator, Danny Thirakul, at dthirakul@mhac.org.
In Community,
Karen Vicari
Director of Public Policy
Mental Health America of California
