Advocacy Across California

Alt text: Illustrated graphic of youth holding protest signs symbolizing the issues they care about.

State-Level Advocacy

As a TAY-led program of Mental Health America of California, CAYEN is directly connected to various forums for advocacy on mental health policy. Through participation in state-level committees and workgroups, we have the ability to take the ideas we hear from TAY and advocate to ensure that they are reflected in decisions made by policymakers.

Through this targeted advocacy at the state level we can directly influence the Governor, State Legislators, State Departments, the Mental Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission, County Mental Health Directors, the Mental Health Planning Council, and many others. Keep on reading to learn about different decision makers that you can engage with!

Most Recent Bills that CAYEN has Co-Sponsored and Supported

 CAYEN’s 2023 Public Policy Priorities

1.   Implement inclusive, culturally competent, and relevant mental and behavioral health care supports, services, and information within schools and communities.

2.   Increase accessibility to mental health services and supports for all TAY.

3.   Dismantle oppressive systems that undermine upstream, preventative mental health services and the continuum of care for vulnerable youth.

4.   Promote civil rights, restorative justice, and harm reduction practices that will reduce substance misuse among youth.

5.   Improve and create access to mental health supports and services for child welfare and justice involved youth.

6.   Improve and increase representation of TAY voices in the decision-making process on an institutional level.

 How You Can Get Involved

Please contact us if you would like to collaborate or help bring youth expertise and lived experience to the table.

Image of youth sitting together, with one youth centered holding a protest sign reading "OUR FUTURES ON THE LINE"

Local Behavioral Health


Boards and Commissions

There are 59 local mental health/behavioral health boards and commissions in California that hold public meetings in which we have the power to influence the behavioral health supports and services that are available for TAY. Advocating at your local board or commission meeting can be a very powerful way to bring your voice to the table. You can also apply for a seat on a board or commission (minimum age 18). Please visit https://www.calbhbc.org/ to learn more about how you can engage with your local mental health/behavioral health board or commission.

Eight youth are sitting together around a desk having a planning meeting. They are speaking to a decision maker through one of the laptops.

Mental Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission (MHSOAC)

The Mental Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission (MHSOAC) is California’s State body for oversight of spending of dollars from the Mental Health Services Act (MHSA; Prop 63). The MHSOAC is a great decision maker to follow to learn about and influence behavioral health resources being implemented across the state. Make your voice heard by joining one of their public meetings!

Click here to tune in to MHSOAC meetings!

A group of eight youth are creating an eight-point star by having each of them hold two fingers to the center of the picture.

Contact Your State Representative

Who are my CA Representatives? Use this link to find out: sos.ca.gov/elections/who-are-my-representatives

To get started, we recommend searching your representatives in the California Assembly and Senate as these are the decision makers who can draft legislation that represents the needs of your community.

If you would like some help with contacting them or have questions about getting involved locally, contact CAYEN so we can help!