As hectic and challenging as our lives are, it’s important to remember that being a kid is no walk in the park either. As a parent and County Supervisor, I know how important it is to ensure our kids have the mental health and addiction treatment resources they need to thrive. That’s why this Tuesday, I’ll be asking my colleagues on the Board of Supervisors to approve my plan to make these services easier for parents and children to access.

From Crisis to Care: A Plan for Our Kids

We’ve made big investments in mental health for adults over the past four years—scaling up our County’s behavioral health workforce, implementing CARE Court to get people with mental health problems off the streets and into treatment, and increasing fentanyl enforcement, prevention and addiction treatment programs.

While this progress has been impactful, there’s still been a gap in making mental health resources easily accessible for young people.

California was recently ranked 51 out of the 50 states and the District of Columbia for parents reporting difficulty in accessing mental health care for their children. This is unacceptable, and it’s clear that without action, the problem will only worsen.

That’s why I’m urging our Board to take immediate steps to address this issue and equip our County to meet the growing need for youth behavioral health care. My plan will:

• Identify gaps in youth care and treatment
• Use data to quantify optimal service levels
• Establish a long-term, comprehensive plan to strategically invest in resources for young people
• Develop the County workforce, infrastructure, and service capacity to better support the mental and emotional well-being of our youth
• Simplify and improve access to funding for these critical treatments

This plan builds upon the advancements we’ve made to improve behavioral health services for adults. Now, by applying the lessons we’ve learned over the past four years, we’re focusing on younger populations, using new tools like Optimal Care Pathways to provide more effective and efficient care for children, youth, and transition-age youth (ages 0 to 25).

The Urgency Behind the Action

From mental health to addiction, many of our region’s young people are in crisis – and we don’t have the infrastructure in place to give youth the support they need.

There is an urgency to this crisis. If left unaddressed, mental health and addiction issues don’t don’t go away; they get worse. A full 50 percent of adults with behavioral health disorders developed symptoms around the age of 14. Statistics show earlier interventions are needed to ensure kids with behavioral health struggles don’t become adults with the same challenges. 

With the right tools and strategies, we can ensure that children, young adults, and their families have the resources and support to address mental health and addiction challenges early on.

I hope this kickstarts an important dialogue within our community, and helps more children and young adults gain tools to reach their full potential. 

Coastal Care

We continue to intensify our efforts to get more folks off the streets and keep people housed.

Here’s a quick update on the County’s homelessness work in our coastal communities:

• We made more than 3,100 outreach engagements with individuals experiencing homelessness in Del Mar, Solana Beach, Encinitas, and Carlsbad from 2021 to 2023. 
• This outreach led to 435 people getting help from self-sufficiency services – like housing, medical care, and job support programs. 
• More than 200 people were connected to emergency and permanent housing in these cities.

The work continues in all of our County District 3 neighborhoods, and I’m committed to continuing to do more to help people get off the streets and into better living situations.

Shh… Definitely Don’t Tell Anyone About This Banned Book

You should be able to read what you want, without the government slamming the book closed. It’s unfortunate that extremists are trying to silence authors and keep books off shelves, but rest assured that the County Board of Supervisors is ensuring that all 33 San Diego County libraries are a place that protects your freedom to read.

As part of the County’s new efforts to highlight the absurdity of banning books during National Banned Book Week (September 22 - 28), I’m co-hosting a special event with Empowering Latino Futures at the Encinitas Library on Monday, September 23 from 6 to 7:30 p.m.

The event will feature San Diego native, Matt de la Peña, a New York Times Bestselling, Newbery Medal-winning author of six young adult novels, including Mexican WhiteBoy (which was banned in Tucson, Arizona!). 

Join us for a reading of this “banned book,” meet the author, and check out the library’s new banned book display! 

RSVP here!

In Service,

Terra