COVID-19 & Emerging Issues

Goal/Opportunity

In 2020-21, the Commission helped county and other community partners respond to the impacts of the pandemic and build capacity in ways that reduce racial, ethnic, and cultural disparities exacerbated by the pandemic.

The Commission reviewed and modified its ongoing projects to better support partners adapting services to emerging needs. The Commission partnered with Social Finance, a nonprofit organization, to launch a Rapid Response Network that provided data to inform novel solutions.

In exploring urgent needs, the Commission found that the pandemic has worsened pre-existing disparities in access to quality care and has put tremendous stress on young people and their families due to the loss of traditional school supports, the isolation associated with quarantining, the ongoing incidences of racial injustice, and the economic distress that has particularly impacted low-income, racial, and ethnic communities.

Background

The pandemic has simultaneously aggravated conditions for mental health consumers and family members, exacerbated risk factors such as anxiety and isolation for all Californians, and disrupted the provision of services to those needing care.

Advocates and service providers are particularly concerned that pre-existing disparities in access to quality care have worsened for some racial, ethnic, and cultural communities.

To address these concerns, the Legislature authorized the Commission to redirect $2.02 million of existing funds in the 2020-21 Budget to fortify the public response to the changing and growing demands on the mental health system.

In January 2021, the Commission approved a plan to utilize the available funding to address disparities in access to effective and culturally appropriate behavioral health services, as well as the increased suicide risk that youth are experiencing, related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Specifically, the Commission authorized the funds to be invested in activities that:

• Support the replication of Solano County’s Interdisciplinary Collaboration and Cultural Transformation Model (ICCTM) Innovation Project;
• Engage county behavioral health leaders on the opportunities to adapt, extend, and replicate the work of the California Reducing Disparities Project (CRDP); and
• Further strengthen the Commission’s school mental health work with an emphasis on youth suicide risk and prevention

In 2021-22, the Commission partnered with the following nonprofit organizations to launch these activities:

• Solano County & UC Davis Center for Reducing Health Disparities
• Prevention Institute
• Directing Change Program & Film Contest
• Bring Change 2 Mind High School Program
• NAMI on Campus High School Program
• Genders & Sexualities Alliance (GSA) Network
• The Goldie Hawn Foundation’s MindUP™ Program

Project Milestones

Next Steps