Policy Brief: Trends in California Overdose Deaths
Drug-related overdose fatalities have risen 50% since 2017. Overdose fatalities are rising faster in California than in the United States where overdose deaths are up 15% over the last three years.
CalAIM: Opportunities and Implications for the Reentry and Justice-Involved Population
Provides an overview of the California Department of Health Services updated proposal to re-envision the state’s Medi-Cal program, and how it specifically address the reentry/justice-involved population. CalAIM offers a unique opportunity to improve the quality of medical and behavioral health care for this healthy vulnerable and underserved population.
The silent epidemic: drug overdose deaths surge in California pre-pandemic
Research provided by California Health Policy Strategies (CHPS) shows that the rate of increases of overdose deaths in California far surpasses the national rate of increase as of May 2020. Experts say this trend has increased as the pandemic has continued.
Policy Brief: Sacramento County School-based Mental Health: An Innovative Approach to Providing Mental Health Care to School Age Children
Describes new partnership with Sacramento County Office of Education and the Sacramento County Department of Behavioral Health to place a mental health clinician in every school.
Policy Brief: California’s Health Workforce Crisis: The Pipeline for New Psychiatrists Falls Short
The current shortage of psychiatrists in California has created a behavioral health workforce crisis that is worsening. This policy brief considers fundamental metrics to help understand the capacity of the workforce pipeline to produce new psychiatrists.
Reentry Health Policy Project: Summary of Publications
The Reentry Health Policy Project is working to (1) identify state and county-level policies and practices that impede the delivery of effective health and behavioral health care services for formerly incarcerated individuals who are medically fragile (MF) and living with serious mental illness (SMI), as they return to the community; (2) find best practices that can replicated at the state and local level; and (3) offer actionable recommendations for policy-makers and stakeholders to consider.
Policy Brief: The Prevalence of Mental Illness in California Jails is Rising. An Analysis of Mental Health Cases and Psychotropic Medication Prescriptions from 2009 to 2019
New analysis of statewide jail data finds a 42% increase in number of inmates with active mental health cases over past 10 years. The share of the jail population with an active mental health case increased by 63%. The report also looks at trends for individual county jails.
Policy Brief: Improving Effectiveness of SSI/SSDI Advocacy Programs for Jail-Incarcerated Populations
This policy brief assesses current efforts to provide federal disability benefits Supplemental Security Income (SSI) and Social Security Disability Insurance (SSDI) to eligible jail inmates reentering the community. The brief describes the benefits that jail based disability advocacy programs may confer to the state, counties, sheriff’s departments, and individual recipients of
SSI/SSDI. Jails offer an effective location for disability advocacy because a significant share of inmates may qualify for SSI or SSDI when released. An estimated 16,000 justice-involved individuals, who are incarcerated for two-weeks or longer, could be prioritized for jail-based disability advocacy and application assistance each year.
Policy Brief: Shifting the Paradigm for Mental Health Diversion: The Impact and Opportunity of AB 1810 and SB 215
The enactment of AB 1810 and SB 2151 (2018) creates the opportunity for a fundamental paradigm shift that could dramatically improve care and reduce homelessness for Californians who have a mental illness and are arrested and prosecuted in the criminal justice system. These new laws establish a process for diversion by placing them into mental health treatment programs in lieu of prosecution.
White Paper Submitted to the California Homeless Coordinating and Financing Council. Supporting the Prison and Jail Reentry Population – A Strategy for Reducing Unsheltered Homelessness in California
San Diego County’s 2018 WEALLCOUNT Report reported that 27% of those in jail, about 1,500 individuals, identified themselves as being unsheltered prior to their incarceration. Before their
arrest, most slept on the street or sidewalk (51%), a vehicle (24%), or in a park, tent, abandoned building, woods encampment.