The San Diego County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a policy proposed by Supervisor Terra Lawson-Remer to maximize services, infrastructure investments, and staffing for children, youth and transition aged youth (0-25).

“This is another vital step in our continued commitment to deliver the best behavioral health services possible in San Diego County,” said Supervisor Lawson-Remer. “We are sharpening our focus on kids as a way to move further upstream in our service delivery. This will yield better results, and ensure more San Diegans have the best quality of life possible.”  

Supervisor Lawson-Remer’s policy will:  

• Initiate a critical dialogue within our community about the behavioral health challenges and unmet need;
• Leverage data, quantify optimal service levels;  
• Identify service needs and gaps for youth care and treatment; 
• Establish a long-term, comprehensive plan to ensure the strategic investment of resources to help young people; 
• Ensure our County has the workforce, infrastructure, and service capacity to support the mental and emotional well-being of kids;
• Find methods to optimize payments for all payers that hold Medi-Cal products to support the implementation of these actions. 

The Optimal Care Pathways model is a data-informed tool the County of San Diego’s Behavioral Health Department created to quantify the best utilization of services across many categories of mental health and substance misuse treatment. Currently, the primary group being helped by the Optimal Care Pathways model is adults. 

There is a growing and intense need for behavioral health services for kids. California ranked 51 out of the 50 states and the District of Columbia for parents reporting the difficulty in accessing mental health care; and 50% of adults with behavioral health disorders developed symptoms around the age of 14. 

To read the policy in its entirety, click here.