California Health Care Almanac -- 2022 Edition: Mental Health in California, Waiting for Care

​Summary: Using the most recent data available, this report provides an overview of mental health statewide: disease prevalence, suicide rates, supply and use of treatment providers, and mental health in the criminal justice system. The report also highlights available data on quality of care and mental health care spending.

This study uses data from the 2015, 2019, and 2019–2020 California Health Interview Surveys (CHIS).

Findings: The prevalence of serious mental illness varied by income, with much higher rates of mental illness for both children and adults in families with incomes below 100% of the federal poverty level. Rates of serious psychological distress reported by California adolescents and adults increased between 2016 and 2019. California’s rate of suicide was below both the national rate and the Healthy People 2030 target, although rates varied within the state by gender, race/ethnicity, and county. Close to two-thirds of adults with a mental illness and two-thirds of adolescents with major depressive episodes did not get treatment. People incarcerated in California’s jails and prisons have high rates of mental illness. In 2019, 30% of female prison inmates and 20% of the male prison population received mental health treatment while incarcerated.
 

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• Report: California Health Care Almanac -- 2022 Edition: Mental Health in California, Waiting for Care