Newsom announces $1B in Prop 1 funding for health facilities
Newsom announces $1B in Prop 1 funding for health facilities
Noe Padilla, USA TODAYWed, March 11, 2026 at 11:55 PM UTC
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Newsom announces $1B in Prop 1 funding for health facilities
California Gov. Gavin Newsom announced that his office will award an additional $1.18 billion in the state's next round of the Bond Behavioral Health Continuum Infrastructure Program to help fund behavioral health facilities in rural and tribal communities.
The funding stems from the $6.4 billion bond approved in 2024 by California voters, who narrowly passed Proposition 1 to create new revenue for mental health services.
With the first round of funding, the state created over 6,900 residential treatment beds and 27,000 outpatient slots within the first two years of distribution, Newsom said during a press conference on March 11. The funds supported the creation of 177 projects across 333 facilities in the state; in turn, California has seen a 9% decline in unsheltered homelessness, the first drop in 15 years, Newsom said.
“Proposition 1 is doing exactly what we promised it would do: transforming California’s behavioral health system. In just two years, we didn’t just meet our goal of creating 6,800 treatment beds; we exceeded it," Newsom said. "That means we’re finally closing the gap that’s left too many communities without the care they need."
Within the first two years, 36 facilities have officially opened and are projected to serve close to 1 million people annually, Newsom said during the press conference.
The additional billion is the final round of funding and will support another 66 projects across 130 behavioral health facilities, creating more than 2,500 treatment beds and 4,200 outpatient slots. Newsom highlighted that this round of funding would focus on supporting regions in California that are "significantly under-resourced" and that were "often forgotten and left behind."
1 / 0California Governor Gavin Newsom's political career in picturesGavin Newsom began serving as the Democratic governor of California in January 2019. Newsom has held many political roles in California, including Lt. Governor and mayor of San Francisco. Take a look at his political career in pictures.
A few of the projects highlighted in this final round of funding included:
A $12 million grant to establish California’s first Tribal Peer Respite with the Yurok Tribe, which will offer community‑based support during behavioral health crises;
A $4.4 million grant to create a residential substance use disorder treatment facility in Glenn County
An additional $38 million grant to complete the second phase of the San Joaquin County Behavioral Health Services - BeWell Campus, which is expected to create a 52-bed social rehabilitation facility meant to support six total counties in the Northern San Joaquin Valley.
Genevieve Valentine, the director of health care services in San Joaquin County, shared how this second round of funding will help address the region's homeless population by giving county leaders the tools and resources needed to intervene and provide services.
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"This (BeWell) campus represents a bold, comprehensive vision of what behavioral health can and should be — accessible, coordinated, compassionate, holistic and built with a whole continuum in mind," Valentine said during the press conference.
"We know that untreated mental health and substance abuse disorders are driving our region's homelessness," Valentine added. "Too many of our neighbors are cycling from streets to emergency rooms, to jails. Not because they choose to or want to."
The state will fund eight projects in small counties that have not previously received an award, including $44.8 million for Del Norte, $11.6 million for Inyo, $24.7 million for Shasta, $23.7 million for Siskiyou, $6.6 million for Sutter, $3.5 million for Trinity, and $9.7 million for Yuba counties, according to a press release about the second round of funding.
Last week, Newsom highlighted several counties that were using funds created via Prop 1 to successfully integrate the state's CARE Court program. But during that same press conference, he also aired his frustration with cities and counties he believed were not achieving the goals set by these funds.
"We are highlighting those cities and counties that are succeeding across a spectrum, meaning delivering on what we are promoting here at the state level, and those who are falling behind," Newsom said. "We're not interested in funding failure anymore. The state, again, has done too much and now it is time to deliver at the local level."
Newsom calls out these 10 counties: Newsom calls out California counties for CARE Court 'failure'
Noe Padilla is a Northern California Reporter for USA Today. Contact him at npadilla@usatodayco.com, follow him on X @1NoePadilla or on Bluesky @noepadilla.bsky.social. Sign up for the TODAY Californian newsletter or follow us on Facebook at TODAY Californian.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Gov. Gavin Newsom announces $1B in funding for mental health services
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