To really make a difference, get involved at the county level!

After the statewide stakeholders meetings, the MSHA funding will be distributed to county mental health departments. This is where school psychologists can have major influence in the way the money is distributed at the local level.

Call your county mental health department and ask to be placed on the list of people who will be notified when your county’s Mental Health Advisory Board will be holding its local stakeholder meetings. Notices for many of these meetings will be announced only on the internet, but if you request notification, the county department should comply.

Attend the meetings and make your opinions known!

You can also write to the director of your county’s Mental Health Department and to the local Mental Health Advisory Commission. Tell them of need for school-based mental health services and specifically how the MHSA money would assist the students at your schools.

Would you like to become even more involved in local mental health issues? Ask to be appointed to your county’s Mental Health Advisory Board. Each county has a Mental Health Advisory Board (small counties may combine them) that helps set mental health policies.

To access your county Mental Health Department, go to: http://www.dmh.ca.gov/docs/CMHDA.pdf