Mental Health

Illustration by Miguel Gutierrez Jr., CalMatters; iStock

Mental Health

‘A lifesaving tool’: California’s new mental health crisis line sees a surge in calls

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.

By

Anabel Sosa

• July 19, 2023

Mental Health

Gavin Newsom’s mental health plan could strip more than $700 million from services, report says

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.

By

Kristen Hwang

• July 17, 2023

Neighborhood resource coordinators Gustavo, center and Jawid Sharifi, right, meet with unhoused residents at a homeless encampment on W Street and Alhambra Boulevard in Sacramento on April 11, 2023. Photo by Rahul Lal, CalMatters

Mental Health

Newsom is proposing a boost in mental health funding. Why children’s advocates are worried

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

By

Kristen Hwang

• June 20, 2023

Mental Health

Will the state’s big Medi-Cal plan really fix mental health care for low-income Californians?

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.

By

Jocelyn Wiener

and

Kristen Hwang

• February 2, 2023

Coronavirus

Did California get its money’s worth from $1.7 billion COVID test contract?

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.

By

Kristen Hwang

and

Ana B. Ibarra

• December 16, 2021

An explanation of nine new California laws taking effect in 2021. Illustration by Anne Wernikoff for CalMatters; iStock

California Wildfires

Nine new California laws explained — each in 1 minute

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 […]

By

CalMatters Staff

• December 31, 2020

Portrait of Celinda Gonzales in Weitchpec on Sep. 17. Gonzales looks off over the Klamath River towards a large rock her son Paul Moreno used to jump off into the water. The rock’s height, she said, deterred Moreno’s friends, but he was a thrill seeker and enjoyed the challenge. Photo by Alexandra Hootnick for CalMatters.

Mental Health

Mental health ‘tsunami’ looms: Can California prevent a surge in suicides?

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.

By

Jocelyn Wiener

• September 30, 2020

Health

California poised to become national leader on mental health and addiction coverage

A bill that is expected to clear the Legislature this week would significantly expand what treatments are considered medically necessary for health insurance coverage.

By

Jocelyn Wiener

• August 27, 2020

Teresa Pasquini looks into the foyer of her home where her son, who has schizoaffective disorder, once attempted suicide before being discovered by his younger sister. Photo by Anne Wernikoff for CalMatters

Mental Health

‘Go on Medi-Cal to get that’: Why Californians with mental illness are dropping private insurance to get taxpayer-funded treatment

It may be an agonizing decision — but the only way to get care their insurance won't cover.

By

Jocelyn Wiener

• July 31, 2020

A homeless person in a wheelchair on Sunset Boulevard in Los Angeles. The has struggled with how to provide care for people with mental illness, but a new state audit says the solution isn't lowering the criteria for compelling mentally ill Californians to get treatment. Photo by Damian Dovarganes, AP Photo

Mental Health

Audit: Don’t make it easier to force mentally ill Californians into treatment — just improve treatment

California’s half-century-old involuntary mental health treatment law isn’t broken, but much of the system meant to serve those with serious mental illness is, state auditors concluded in a much-anticipated report released today. Some critics have called for rewriting state law to make it easier to force people into involuntary treatment, particularly by expanding the state’s […]

By

Jocelyn Wiener

• July 28, 2020