Developing a Robust Mental Health System in Long Beach

Summary: The Long Beach Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) and local mental health agencies collaborated with the County of Los Angeles to explore the feasibility of establishing a more robust mental health services infrastructure. Between May 2022 and February 2023, the DHHS convened and facilitated a planning process to develop recommendations for a more robust mental health system in Long Beach. This process included two parallel but related efforts: 

1. Convening an advisory group comprising representatives from Long Beach mental health service providers, homeless services agencies, business associations, county departments, local hospitals, and educational institutions to inform the recommendations. 
2. Engaging a consulting group with expertise in mental health systems to provide technical information, make recommendations, and take strategic action in specific areas to support the planning process. 

Findings: The DHHS identified and laid out four focus areas and strategies for localizing the mental health system within its scope of control and authority. These focus areas are mental health treatment capacity, prevention, access to treatment, and focus populations. Each focus area contains goals and strategies. The strategies are organized into three time frames: accomplished, short-term, and long-term. The feasibility of these strategies and actions depends on identifying the substantial funding and staffing resources necessary to carry out the efforts. 

This study uses 2021 California Health Interview Survey (CHIS) data.

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• Report: Developing a Robust Mental Health System in Long Beach