From policy to practice: Making behavioral health reform work in California
At this year’s Vision 2030 Solution Symposium, leaders discussed how to ensure California’s behavioral health reforms work. Here’s what they said.
California’s Behavioral Health Workforce: Progress, Gaps, and What Comes Next
A new national report from Inseparable underscores the urgency and the opportunity for California to strengthen its behavioral health workforce. Here’s everything you need to know.
The Critical Role Peer Support Specialists Play on ACT and FACT Teams
ACT and FACT are evidence-based models designed for people with the most complex behavioral health needs, and peers are a critical part of their success, especially during key moments of transition. Learn how these models work and why peers are essential to their success.
AB 988 selected for Outcomes Review: Strengthening accountability for California’s crisis response systems
Assembly Bill 988, the law that established and funded California’s 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline, has been selected for a formal legislative Outcomes Review as part of a new initiative to evaluate how effectively recently enacted policies are working in practice. The review will focus on implementation: what’s working, where gaps remain, and what it will take to ensure Californians in crisis can access the right care at the right place and time.
Proposition One and the Peer Support Movement: A False Divide
Karen Larsen, CEO of the Steinberg Institute, reflects on the “us vs them” mentality between supporters of Proposition 1 and the Peer Support Specialist movement—and how framing the two as competing priorities presents a false choice.
Fixing California’s crisis response system: Why the ER isn’t the right destination for all emergencies
How alternative destination programs work—and what they mean for California’s behavioral health system When someone in California experiences a behavioral health crisis, help usually comes through a 911 call, where they get sent to an emergency department. […]
Bridging the gap: How Placer County is rethinking serious mental illness levels of care
Placer County new behavioral health level of care, Mid-Service Partnerships (MSPs), offer an option for people whose needs fall in between low-intensity clinic services and highly intensive Full Service Partnerships (FSPs). Learn more about what MSPs are and how they work.
Essentials: California’s Justice-Involved Reentry Initiative
The CalAIM Justice-Involved Reentry Initiative allows Medi-Cal services to begin before release from incarceration. Learn what it is, how it works, and why it matters for behavioral health access.
Modernizing 911 to Meet the Moment: How Phoenix Is Strengthening Coordinated Behavioral Health Crisis Response
By adding a behavioral health option to 911 calls, Phoenix is evolving emergency response to better match people in crisis with the care they need. Source: Center for American Progress Behavioral health crises make up a growing […]
From Policy to Practice: Lessons from the Front Lines of Behavioral Health Implementation
What does good implementation really look like? Steinberg Institute’s Director of Implementation, Tracey Dickinson, shares lessons from the field on turning behavioral health policy into practice in California.