© 2026 First 5 Center for Children’s Policy. All rights reserved.
Blog Post
Nicole Hsu • Allison Murphy • Stephanie Kaiser • Jun 15, 2026
The Children and Youth Behavioral Health Initiative (CYBHI) set out to design a system that meets the behavioral health needs of children and youth where they are. While the intention of CYBHI was to support the birth to 25 age range, many of the state’s investments have focused on children older than five, leaving out the earliest years when the brain is rapidly developing.
Blog Post
Nicole Hsu • Alexandra Parma • Apr 1, 2026
In recent years, California has launched several major initiatives that have reshaped the children's behavioral health services landscape. While these investments have elevated the profile of children's mental health broadly, early childhood and prevention have not always received proportionate attention.
Blog Post
Jaren Gaither • Liza Davis • Dec 12, 2025
Every child deserves to grow up feeling safe, supported, and surrounded by people they trust. Their mental health and overall wellbeing depend on it. But in many communities across the country, that promise is slipping away.
Blog Post
Jaren Gaither • Aug 22, 2024
Infants, toddlers, and young children have unique mental health needs compared to their older counterparts.
Blog Post
Jaren Gaither • Mar 11, 2024
With tax season approaching, it is important to highlight the programs that help lower income families with young children receive much needed financial assistance.
Blog Post
Jaren Gaither • Aug 30, 2023
On August 4, 2023, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the first pill for postpartum depression (PPD), marking a significant milestone in treating a condition that affects one in five California women.
Blog Post
Kathryn Margolis • Nov 10, 2022
California has created a dyadic services Medi-Cal benefit effective January 2023. The dyadic services benefit allows Medi-Cal to cover behavioral health wellness visits that focus on the individual child and their surrounding environment, including caregiver wellness, all within the context of the child’s medical appointment.
Blog Post
Pradeep Gidwani, MD • Ruth P. Newton, PhD • Sep 8, 2021
Individual therapy approaches cannot capture the complexity involved as parent, baby, their relationship, their family system, and the culture they are in, all interact. Dyadic therapy, where parent and infant/young child are treated together, addresses all levels of these interacting factors.
Blog Post
Jul 19, 2021
Among the many important investments in this year’s state budget, California’s new dyadic care benefit in the Medi-Cal program is particularly significant.
Blog Post
Kathryn Margolis • Jun 9, 2021
Dyadic care models like HealthySteps provide important support to families with young children. Such care is particularly important in this pandemic- recovery time, which exacerbated mental health concerns, family stress, isolation, and income insecurity, particularly for BIPOC families who already face health inequity due to structural racism and oppression.
© 2026 First 5 Center for Children’s Policy. All rights reserved.