In 2019, California’s Senate Bill 75 funded the Mental Health Student Services Act (MHSSA). The Mental Health Services Oversight & Accountability Commission (MHSOAC) awards MHSSA grants to County Behavioral Health Departments to establish mental health partnerships with their County Office of Education and School Districts to meet student mental health needs. In 2022, Alameda County received a four-year grant to implement the MHSSA Partnership Program. 

The Alameda County MHSSA Partnership Program is administered by Alameda County Health’s Healthy Schools and Communities (ACHSC) Division, in close partnership with Alameda County Health’s Behavioral Health Division and Alameda County Office of Education. A priority for ACHSC continues to be to spread and sustain support for Districts and community-based organization (CBO) partners to build successful school health infrastructure and partnerships. ACHSC is collaborating with our internal and external partners to use MHSSA funds to address the unique mental health and wellness in six high-priority School Districts across Alameda County. ACHSC contracted with our team at UCSF to evaluate the MHSSA Partnership Program.