Assessing the Adequacy of the Behavioral Health Workforce in California

Around 18 percent of adults in California report needing help for mental health problems or issues with substance abuse, but can the state's behavioral health workforce meet this growing demand? This research project explored the adequacy of California's current behavioral health workforce, which includes psychiatrists, clinical social workers, psychiatric nurses, clinical psychologists, mental health counselors and more. Researchers identified:

• The total number of behavioral health workers in California
• Geographic distribution of these workers across the state
• Practice settings and wages
• Demographic characteristics
• The pipeline of trainees in behavioral health occupations
• An estimate for future demand of behavioral health services compared with projections of the supply of behavioral health workers within the coming decade