California Health Care Foundation

Sobering centers offer a cost-effective alternative for providing care to people with acute intoxication whose public alcohol or drug use puts themselves or others at risk. New interest in the decades-old approach has been sparked by recent CalAIM (California Advancing and Innovating Medi-Cal). Learn more about these programs through these two publications: a high-level issue brief and a detailed report.

This paper is the second of two cross-site analyses drawn on insights from the seven publications in the 2020 Regional Market Report series. It explores factors contributing to behavioral health access issues, including workforce shortages and the complexity of the Medi-Cal system for behavioral health services. It also highlights efforts to improve and integrate services to Medi-Cal enrollees.

CHCF commissioned interviews with 54 people enrolled in Medi-Cal who are dually diagnosed with mental illness and substance use disorder. The paper and accompanying videos highlight what is working — and not working — for them in the health care system.

This paper summarizes the approaches taken and lessons learned by the first 15 state Medicaid programs to reimburse for collaborative care, an evidence-based model of integrating behavioral health into primary care. An accompanying fact sheet outlines the benefit in Medi-Cal.

This statewide survey of health care providers assesses their mental health and morale, the pandemic's financial impact on their practices, and providers' view of California's readiness for futures emergencies.

As the COVID-19 pandemic has worn on, teens and young adults report growing levels of depression, stress, and anxiety. CHCF partnered with Common Sense and Hopelab to better understand how young people have used social media and digital health tools to take care of their mental health during the pandemic.