Latest California Healthline Stories
UC-Merced Leverages Technology To Improve Access to Mental Health Care
UC-Merced is the first campus in the University of California system to use telemedicine for mental health services, a natural for millennials who grew up with technology, according to school officials.
Feds OK State’s Drug Medi-Cal Waiver
Federal health officials gave the green light to California’s plan to revamp and better coordinate physical and mental health services delivered in Medi-Cal.
Hearing Targets Foster Kids’ Medication
Foster children are prescribed psychotropic medications at a higher rate than other kids, and lawmakers convened to find out what’s being done about it.
Evaluation Trumps Incarceration in L.A. Police Dept. Mental Health Efforts
The Los Angeles Police Department’s Mental Evaluation Unit is winning rave reviews locally, in other states and from a few foreign countries, as well. Stakeholders say the program could be even better with more resources.
Medi-Cal Mental Health Waiver Approved
Integration of physical and mental health in the Medi-Cal program got a boost from federal approval of a five-year extension of the specialty mental health services waiver.
Analyst’s Office Cites ‘Shortcomings’ in Mental Health Hospitals’ Administration
Poor budgeting methods, administrative inefficiencies and unclear staffing needs all combine for a low score for the California Department of State Hospitals, according to a new report from the Legislative Analyst’s Office.
UCLA Report Shows How Some Clinics Integrate Mental Health Into Primary Care
Integrating mental health into the primary care setting can be done in a relatively straightforward way, according to UCLA researchers who studied five California clinics.
Little Hoover Commission Issues Report on State’s Mental Health Services
California health officials need to focus on better monitoring and counties need to have standards to measure performance of the Mental Health Services Act, according to a new report from the Little Hoover Commission.
Draft Plan Emerges To Reduce Disparities in Mental Health Care
After four years of planning, the state’s Department of Public Health has released its strategic plan to address mental health care disparities experienced by Californians of various races, ethnicities and sexual orientations.
New Los Angeles Program Working To Divert Mentally Ill, Homeless From Jail
Replicating a model already delivering impressive results in other metropolitan areas, Los Angeles County has implemented an innovative, cost-cutting jail diversion and alternate sentencing program for the chronically homeless and seriously mentally ill.