We are spending more than ever on mental health and addiction care in California, yet people are still suffering. Why? California’s behavioral health funding has nearly tripled since 2016. Over the past decade, $18 billion has been invested to expand access and improve quality for the state’s most vulnerable. Even with that progress, too many Californians are still waiting months for treatment, cycling through jails and ERs, or dying in our streets. A $12 billion state budget deficit is already delaying key investments. The One Big Beautiful Act could gut Medicaid by $800 billion, threatening coverage for millions. New research conducted by the Steinberg Institute found that today’s crisis is the latest chapter in a long history of broken promises and unstable funding – creating a system that continues to struggle to provide care to our most vulnerable. Read our new position paper to learn: → How economic downturns and shifting priorities have repeatedly undermined mental health r...