LA County Says Proposed Budget Prioritizes Mental Health. But Is It Enough?

Los Angeles County leaders say the new $45.4 billion proposed budget heavily prioritizes an investment in mental health, but some say it's not enough.

The proposed budget for the fiscal year that starts July 1 is almost $1.4 billion less than the current budget, but features increased spending for more than 830 new jobs.

More than half of the new positions in the budget plan would go to the county Department of Mental Health, according to county CEO Fesia Davenport’s office. Under the proposal, that department would see more than $180 million added to its coffers compared to the previous fiscal year.

Of those new positions, the county is proposing to add about 100 new jobs to support the fledgling CARE Court program, as well as positions for unarmed mental health crisis response and outreach for people experiencing homelessness .

“These investments have a multiplier effect. They help reduce homelessness... they help reduce the number of persons in our jails with mental health issues and they help communities thrive through better access to care,” Davenport told supervisors at a Tuesday board meeting.

Supervisor Hilda Solis welcomed the 452 new mental health positions, but said they aren’t enough. That number, she said, should be tripled.

“We could probably use 1,500… ,” Solis said Tuesday. That’s probably what we realistically need.”

Even if the proposed mental health positions make it to the final approved budget, there’s no guarantee the county will be able to fill those jobs quickly. Historically, L.A. County has struggled to hire for vacant mental health jobs, citing industry-wide shortages of qualified workers exacerbated by the pandemic and burnout-related retention issues .

Representatives from the Re-Imagine L.A. Coalition who spoke at the meeting said the county’s proposed investment in mental health is a step in the right direction, but does not go far enough to implement the county’s stated plans to prioritize care over incarceration.

They called on supervisors to redirect money from the sheriff’s and probation departments.

“While things like implementing more provisions for mental health care are certainly a priority for community members, we can all be sure that throwing more money at the sheriff’s and probation department is not on ‘priority mountain,’” Megan Castillo with Re-Imagine L.A. said Tuesday.

“Priority mountain” is a term used in a three-minute cartoon, produced by the county CEO’s office , which tries to explain county-directed priorities and how they play into the budget process.

Public hearings for the recommended budget begin May 15.