LOS ANGELES — The Los Angeles City Council accepted suggestions Wednesday aimed toward enhancing the coordination, supply and communication of common and behavioral well being providers.
In a 12-0 vote, council members instructed workers to work with county officers to establish organizations, by council districts, which can be at present offering well being providers and report again with methods to higher serve Angelenos.
Different metropolis departments will probably be tasked with figuring out educational establishments and certification packages that would help within the effort.
Moreover, town will look to deal with behavioral well being workforce shortages by potential incentives, reminiscent of scholar mortgage compensation, cost of college and certification charges and shifting stipends, amongst different concepts.
Council members Bob Blumenfield, Eunisses Hernandez, Nithya Raman, Paul Krekorian and Monica Rodriguez initiated the trouble by a movement they launched in late January.
In accordance with the County Behavioral Well being Administrators Affiliation of California’s February 2023 report, which surveyed 57 counties throughout the state, greater than 70% of county behavioral well being companies had issue recruiting new hires.
The workforce consists of licensed psychological well being and substance-use dysfunction professionals, starting from licensed scientific social employees, licensed skilled scientific counselors, nurse practitioners and registered nurses to look assist specialists, care coordinators and others.
Within the better Los Angeles space, these professionals present providers to susceptible populations, and plenty of work for the county and metropolis as a part of regional various disaster response.
Town depends on behavioral well being professionals by partnerships with the county to assist co-deployment fashions such because the L.A. Hearth Division’s Superior Supplier Response Items, SOBER Items and Therapeutic Van program, in addition to the Los Angeles Police Division’s Systemwide Psychological Evaluation Response Groups, Psychological Analysis Items and Case Evaluation Administration Program.
Officers are involved that there usually are not sufficient behavioral well being professionals to exchange those that are at or close to retirement age, or to satisfy the rising demand for these positions.
Beforehand, the county Board of Supervisors accepted incentive packages to draw extra field-based behavioral well being employees.
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