The Behavioral Health Planning & Advisory Council (BHPAC) is administered under Colorado's cabinet level Behavioral Health Administration (BHA), whose stated purpose, vision and values are "...that all people in Colorado deserve to experience whole-person health, to make sure behavioral health services in Colorado are accessible, meaningful, and trusted, and to co-create a people-first behavioral health system that meets the needs of all people in Colorado". The establishment of a Behavioral Health Planning and Advisory Council is mandated in all 50 states by the federal agency, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), under the Department of Health & Human Services, to advise each state's behavioral health agencies on the best uses of the Federal Behavioral Health Block Grants, awarded every other year, and to advocate for the community-at-large on behavioral health needs.

BHPAC is a fully integrated planning and advisory council, equally inclusive of representation of mental health and substance abuse disorder issues. The membership includes people in recovery, family members, state agencies, treatment providers, advocates and other individuals who have a vested interest in Colorado's behavioral health system. The makeup of BHPAC is required to have at least 51% of the members to have lived experience with behavioral health issues. That includes people in recovery from substance abuse, in treatment/recovery for a mental health disorder, and/or their caregivers. The functioning committees are Prevention, Treatment, Recovery, Children-Youth-Family, Systems Advocacy, Block Grant, Steering, and Membership. For more information about BHPAC, visit https://bha.colorado.gov/behavioral-health-planning-and-advisory-council.

The orientation video has information on the functions of BHPAC and membership responsibilities. Colorado residents who qualify based on the membership criteria, may apply to join BHPAC. Click on the Membership Application button to access the online application. The Behavioral Health Planning & Advisory Council meets the first Thursday of the month from 9 AM to 11 AM, and is open to the public. All meetings can be accessed on the Zoom platform. To join a meeting as a guest, click on the BHPAC Zoom Meeting button.