Jocelyn Wiener

‘Everybody’s been denied some form of care,’ said one California mental health advocate. Now, lawmakers are advancing new bills on behavioral health coverage.

Gov. Gavin Newsom made mental health a priority since he took office five years ago. The ballot initiative voters approved this week will provide billions of dollars to fund housing and treatment facilities for mentally ill Californians.

Gov. Gavin Newsom’s Proposition 1 is the latest milestone in California’s long struggle to address mental illness. It would allocate new funding for housing and treatment facilities, aiming to address a crisis that plays out on city streets.

A 2020 California law expanded the number of mental health conditions that insurers must cover. Now, lawmakers are reviewing whether the law is working as intended.

Gov. Gavin Newsom’s signature mental health policies allow the involuntary treatment of more Californians with severe mental illnesses. Some fear the new laws will infringe on the civil liberties of people confined against their will.

Newly acquired state data shows that the Corrections Department transferred patients with serious mental illnesses an average of five times over a six-year period, underscoring a CalMatters’ investigation this year that revealed the practice and raised questions about the harm it could cause.

With demand rising for mental health care, and providers in short supply, experts explain how California got here – and where the state may be headed.

Now that Gov. Gavin Newsom’s court system for people with severe mental illness cleared the state Legislature, counties face a series of practical questions critical to turning the fuzzy concept into a reality.

The union representing 2,000 Kaiser Northern California mental health works announced plans to strike, citing high workloads and long waits for patients.

While lawmakers are still gung-ho about Gov. Gavin Newsom’s CARE Court approach to the state's crisis of homelessness, county officials are worried they don’t have the resources to implement the idea.

One in three California prisoners has a diagnosed mental illness. The state’s solution for some? Move them around.

The Newsom administration plans to spend $4.4 billion addressing mental health needs among young people. But will it come soon enough?