Publications

Featured publications

Policy Brief

Variation in Psychological Distress, Life Impairment, and Unmet Need for Care Among Groups of American Indian/Alaska Native Adults in California

This brief uses five years of pooled data from the 2019 to 2023 CHIS to analyze data for all AIAN adults as a single population and as then as multiple populations with diverse Latino ethnic and racial identities.
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Policy Brief

Addressing Gaps in Digital Supported Decision-Making (SDM) Resources for the Disability Community in California

This policy brief presents findings from a gap analysis of digital supported decision-making (SDM) resources in California.
supported decision making cover with woman and man looking at computer, plus infographic

Policy Brief

Child Care Among California Households With Young Children Ages 0-5

This brief uses data from the 2019–2023 California Health Interview Survey to describe the child care experiences of households with young children aged 0–5 years old, including unmet need for child care, and household spending on child care.
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Journal Article

Editorial: National Trends in Child Mental Health Disorders Signal Opportunities and Challenges for Precision Child Psychiatry

Improving access to child mental health care is a national priority area. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, through the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), recently awarded $68.5 million in grants that support behavioral health education, training and community programs to help address mental health and substance use conditions.

One of the 4 guiding principles of SAMHSA's 2023-2026 Strategic Plan is a commitment to data and evidence to inform resource allocation, with priority on timely, high-quality data. The Behavioral Health Services Information System (BHSIS) is an integrated statistical data system that provides information at national, state, and local levels on the facilities and services available for substance abuse and mental health in the United States, as well as characteristics of individuals receiving care.
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Journal Article

"Feeling Like You Matter:" LGBTQ + Young Adult Perspectives on Affirmative Mental Healthcare

This study explores the experiences of LGBTQ + young people in mental health care and to understand their perspectives on what affirmative mental health care practice should look like.

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Journal Article

Use of Acute Mental Health Care in U.S. Children's Hospitals Before and After Statewide COVID-19 School Closure Orders

This study aimed to examine changes in child emergency department (ED) discharges and hospitalizations for primary general medical (GM) and primary psychiatric disorders; prevalence of psychiatric disorders among acute care encounters; and change in acute mental health (MH) care encounters by disorder type and, within these categories, by child sociodemographic characteristics before and after statewide COVID-19–related school closure orders.

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Journal Article

Overview of Ten Child Mental Health Clinical Outcome Measures: Testing of Psychometric Properties with Diverse Client Populations in the U.S. (Administration Policy and Mental Health)

While many standardized assessment measures exist to track child mental health treatment outcomes, the degree to which such tools have been adequately tested for reliability and validity across race, ethnicity, and class is uneven. This paper examines the corpus of published tests of psychometric properties for the ten standardized measures used in U.S. child outpatient care, with focus on breadth of testing across these domains.

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Journal Article

Mental Health Staffing at HRSA-Funded Health Centers May Improve Access to Care (Psychiatric Services)

The study examined the association between mental health staffing at health centers funded by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) and patients’ receipt of mental health treatment. Data were from the 2014 HRSA-funded Health Center Patient Survey and the 2013 Uniform Data System. Colocation of any mental health staff, including psychiatrists, psychologists, and other licensed staff, was examined.

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Journal Article

Validation of the Traumatic Events Screening Inventory for ACEs

The purpose in this study was to adapt and validate the Traumatic Events Screening Inventory (TESI) as a primary-care childhood adversity screening tool for children living in vulnerable neighborhoods using a community-partnered approach.

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Journal Article

Selection of a Child Clinical Outcome Measure for Statewide Use in Publicly Funded Outpatient Mental Health Programs

The study describes the process of choosing a clinical outcome measure for a statewide performance outcome system for children receiving publicly funded mental health services in California.

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Policy Research Report

California Child Mental Health Performance Outcomes System: Recommendation Report

CHPR authors were charged by the California Department of Health Care Services (DHCS) to examine available tools for the measurement of improvements in mental health and functioning status for children and adolescents served by California’s publicly funded specialty mental health systems.