Gavin Newsom says California is the world’s fourth largest economy
California has officially been named the world’s fourth-largest economy, according to the International Monetary Fund and the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis.
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California Governor Gavin Newsom announced an additional $1.18 billion in the next round of the state’s Bonded Behavioral Health Continuing Infrastructure Program, aimed at funding behavioral health facilities in the state’s rural and tribal communities.
The funding comes from a $6.4 billion bond approved in 2024 by California voters, who narrowly passed Proposition 1 to generate new revenue for mental health services.
Newsom said at a March 11 press conference that with the first round of funding, the state created more than 6,900 residential treatment beds and more than 27,000 outpatient slots in the first two years of distribution. Funding supported the creation of 177 projects across 333 facilities across the state. As a result, California saw a 9% decline in unsheltered homelessness, the first decline in 15 years, Newsom said.
“Proposition 1 does exactly what we promised to do: transform California’s behavioral health system. In just two years, we not only achieved our goal of creating 6,800 treatment beds; “We have surpassed that, and this means we are finally closing the gap that leaves too many communities without the care they need,” Newsom said.
Thirty-six facilities are expected to officially open in the first two years, serving nearly 1 million people a year, Newsom said at a news conference.
The additional $1 billion is the final round of funding and will support 66 more projects across 130 behavioral health facilities, creating more than 2,500 treatment beds and 4,200 outpatient slots. Newsom emphasized that this round of funding will focus on supporting California’s “severely under-resourced” and “often forgotten and left behind” regions.
Some of the projects highlighted in this final round of funding include:
- $12 million grant to establish California’s first tribal peer respite with the Yurok Tribe. Providing community-based support during behavioral health crises.
- $4.4 million grant to establish a residential substance use disorder treatment facility in Glenn County
- San Joaquin County Behavioral Health Services – Additional $38 million grant to complete Phase 2 of the Bewell campus. This will create a 52-bed social rehabilitation facility aimed at serving a total of six counties in the northern San Joaquin Valley.
San Joaquin County Health Services Director Genevieve Valentine spoke about how this second round of funding will help address the region’s homeless population by providing county leaders with the tools and resources needed to intervene and provide services.
“This (BeWell) campus represents a bold, comprehensive vision of what behavioral health is and should be: accessible, coordinated, caring, holistic, and built with the entire continuum in mind,” Valentine said at a press conference.
“We know that untreated mental health and substance abuse disorders are contributing to homelessness in our region,” Valentine added. “Too many of our neighbors are biking from the street to the emergency room to the jail, not because they choose it or because they want to.”
According to a press release about the second round of funding, the state will fund eight projects in smaller counties that have never received an award before, including $44.8 million for Del Norte County. $11.6 million for Inyo County, $24.7 million for Shasta County, $23.7 million for Siskiyou County, $6.6 million for Sutter County, $3.5 million for Trinity County and $9.7 million for Yuba County.
Last week, Newsom highlighted several counties that are taking advantage of funds created by Proposition 1 to successfully integrate the state’s CARE court program. But at the same press conference, he also expressed frustration with cities and counties that he believes have not met the goals set by these funds.
“We’re focusing on cities and counties that are successful in a variety of areas — cities and counties that are delivering on what we’re pushing for at the state level — and cities and counties that are falling behind,” Newsom said. “We’re no longer interested in funding failures. The state has gone too far once again. Now it’s time to make a difference at the local level.”
Noe Padilla is a Northern California reporter for USA Today. To contact him, npadilla@usatodayco.comX Follow him at @1NoePadilla or Bluesky @noepadilla.bsky.social.. Sign up for the TODAY Californian newsletter or follow TODAY Californian on Facebook.
