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LA County universities get $110 million to shore up mental health workforce
UCLA, Cal State University Los Angeles and Cal State Dominguez Hills announced Monday a collective $110 million investment from the Ballmer Group.
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Topline:
UCLA, Cal State University Los Angeles and Cal State Dominguez Hills on Monday announced a collective $110 million investment from the Ballmer Group to support the training of new mental health workers.
The details: Cal State Dominguez Hills says its $29 million gift is the largest in the university’s history. Most of the money awarded from the group founded by former Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer will go toward scholarships of up to $18,000 a year for students studying in fields related to mental health. It’ll also help launch a new program that aims to train hundreds of mental health workers to focus on South L.A. neighborhoods.
Other Schools: UCLA announced it received a $33 million grant from the Ballmer Group and Cal State L.A. said it got $48 million to focus on youth mental health.
Why it matters: In a report published in January, the California Department of Healthcare Access and Information said all counties across the state are facing a shortage of non-prescribing licensed clinicians, with more than 55,000 needed to meet demand statewide.
What’s next: The universities said, collectively, the investment will support hundreds of behavioral health graduates over the next five years.
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