Background 

In 2023, HBGI conducted a California statewide review of Full Service Partnerships (FSPs), recommending stronger performance management and a greater emphasis on client outcomes. In April 2024 we partnered with the California Behavioral Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission (BHSOAC) to pilot a performance management model with six FSPs across two counties over 16 months. The pilot served as proof of concept, demonstrating the value of structured performance management in centering client outcomes and fostering shared learning across the system. 

Following its success, in May 2025 HBGI expanded the approach to drive performance improvements across 52 behavioral health sites contracted by a California County, including Youth, Adult, and Substance Use Programs. Over the course of two years we will be working to embed the Performance Management Cycle into county operations, equipping staff to lead reviews, carry out action planning, and sustain improvements. At the same time, we are strengthening communication channels so that performance data informs leadership decisions and closes the feedback loop between counties and service providers. 

Our Approach

Performance Management is a continuous cycle of tracking, reporting, and reviewing performance—using clear measures of what “success” looks like for clients—with the goal of ongoing improvement. We introduce this cycle through monthly performance reviews, supported by a ‘Performance Pack’ that examines the client’s journey, surfaces insights, and identifies concrete actions to strengthen provider performance. These reviews then serve as the springboard for the Performance Management Cycle – setting priorities and defining next steps to be taken in the following month. This approach not only improves client outcomes but builds provider and county capacity to use data for decision-making and to respond quickly to client needs. 

The goals of the project are: 

1. To increase performance of the service providers, with a focus on engagement with and then the progress and outcomes achieved by service users.   
2. To build the capacity of the service providers and County in collecting, defining, tracking, recording, and reviewing program performance data, and in sharing learning.  
3. To demonstrate the effectiveness of performance-based contracting by validating the content and use of ‘performance packs’; the value of monthly performance reviews; the value of centering the voice of service users; the value of strengthening internal performance reporting and management; and the value of enhanced sharing across the system to encourage wider uptake and to build a stronger culture of performance and outcomes. 

These will be achieved through the following activities: 

• Develop HBGI Performance Packs in collaboration with Service Providers and the County, 
• Support monthly performance reviews between County Contract Monitors and contracted Service Providers, 
• Provide technical support and coaching on performance management and data analysis skills to County Contract Monitors overseeing contracted Service Providers, 
• And support the County to strengthen its internal reporting and performance management, with a focus on client outcomes. 

This project is running through March 2027. If you have any questions or want to get in touch, please contact info@hbgi.org or erin.mcguinness@hbgi.org. 

Team + Partners

We are developing this program in partnership with a California County Behavioral Health Division.