Developed a set of principles to improve mental health services in California through a partnership with the California Mental Health Services Oversight & Accountability Commission (MHSOAC).

Over the last year, with the support of the MHSOAC, we have collaborated with community partners and county mental and behavioral health agencies to identify gaps and principles to strengthen upstream prevention in mental health to build common ground that advances community-defined evidence practice. We identified several principles: transparency, meaningful community engagement processes, trauma-informed and people-centered approaches, health equity and racial justice in policy and decision-making, and disruption. These principles will serve as the foundation for a forthcoming set of systems and policy change recommendations. The first phase shined a light on intersections and opportunities to increase community-defined evidence practice and upstream prevention in California. We will continue working in partnership and across sectors to harness a vision that expands health equity and racial justice in this work.

Funder: California Mental Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission.

Photo by Joel Muniz.