Mental Health

California collects a special tax on high incomes to fund mental health services. Gov. Gavin Newsom wants to change how the money is spent so a share of it can be used to fund housing for homeless people with mental illnesses.

California voters likely will see a mental health ballot measure on the March 2024 election. One would issue a $6 billion bond to create housing for people with mental illnesses.

Gov. Gavin Newsom wants counties to spend some revenue from California’s so-called “millionaire’s tax” on the state’s homeless crisis. That alarms advocates for programs that are getting that money today.

One California mental health crisis center grew its staff by almost 50% to accommodate that number of calls it’s been receiving since the state launched its 988 hotline.

Gov. Gavin Newsom wants to rethink how California spends its millionaire’s tax by directing more money toward housing. Some county-run mental health programs could lose out.

The spending change would prioritize housing for homeless people, which children's mental health advocates fear will cut their funding.

A year into the rollout of CalAIM, payment details are murky and obstacles remain in finding help for Medi-Cal recipients with mental health needs.

The Valencia lab, a public-private venture between the state and PerkinElmer, processed only 1 to 8% of all Californians’ COVID tests in the first 10 months of the contract. And the lab was riddled with dozens of problems, according to an inspection report.

1. California widens mental health conditions insurers must cover In the past, state law only required treatment for nine serious mental illnesses. Even before the pandemic, more than half of Californians said most people with mental health conditions couldn’t get the help they needed. Some families even dropped private insurance to qualify for treatment in […]

Humboldt County, tucked into the redwoods on the state’s far North Coast, also has a much higher suicide rate than most of California. The pandemic has fueled new concerns.