Peer Support Specialists, often called “Peers,” have become a vital element of California’s behavioral health system. Peers use their lived experience, paired with formal training, to help people navigate recovery with empathy and credibility.
New research from the Steinberg Institute takes an in-depth look at how California counties define and assess levels of care for adult individuals diagnosed with serious mental illnesses (SMIs).
To help policymakers, providers, and stakeholders better understand the state of behavioral health crisis care in California, our research team released a report assessing crisis care capacity across the state.
California’s behavioral health system is at a critical inflection point. Read about the federal threats, state progress, and the collective effort needed to protect hard-won reforms.
A new San Francisco clinic is an early case study on how cities can strengthen behavioral health crisis response systems centered on compassion and respect.
Proposition 47 (2014) and Proposition 36 (2024) represent two key shifts in how California approaches incarceration and behavioral health treatment California’s Proposition 47, passed by voters in 2014, changed how California defines and prosecutes non-violent crimes, especially […]
In a new San Diego Union-Tribune article, Steinberg Institute CEO Karen Larsen weighed in on San Diego County’s proposed $210 million Behavioral Health Wellness Campus — a plan to bring multiple levels of mental health and substance […]
This blog is part of Perspectives, our blog series where Institute leaders, partners, and subject matter experts share their insights on the most pressing challenges — and opportunities — in behavioral health and substance use care. Let’s […]
In this past legislative year, Governor Newsom signed over 20 bills pertaining to behavioral health into law. Below outlines each bill—who wrote it, what it does, and the populations it impacts. We defined “behavioral health-related” as bills […]
The biggest changes 2024’s Behavioral Health Services Act made to its Mental Health Services Act (MHSA) predecessor The Mental Health Services Act (MHSA), established in 2004 through Proposition 63, created a stable funding source for community-based mental […]