Statistics on Mental Health Needs in California
According to the California HealthCare Foundation (CHCF), almost one in six adults in the state has a mental health issue and one in twenty suffer from a serious mental illness. As many as one in thirteen children suffer from a mental health disorder that “limits participation in daily activities.” Despite the vast number of people that suffer from mental health issues in the state, few ever receive treatment.
The CHCF estimates that as few as half of the adults with diagnosable mental health needs receive treatment and only one-third of children get the help they need. Certain demographics had higher rates of mental illness including those with lower incomes and adults that are Native American, multiracial, and African American.
As noted in Mental Health Care in California: Painting a Picture:
- 6 percent of children in California have a serious emotional disturbance.
- 3 percent of adults in the state have a serious mental illness.
- 9 percent of adults have any mental illness.
- Rates for children with serious emotional disturbance and adults with a serious mental illness are highest in the San Joaquin Valley but are fairly consistent throughout the state.
- Latino and African American children were slightly more likely to have a serious emotional disturbance than other races or ethnicities.
- 10 percent of children below the poverty line had a social emotional disturbance.
- Women were more likely to suffer from a serious mental illness than men.
- Adults between the ages of 35 to 44 were more likely to have a serious mental illness than any other age group.
- 6 percent of adults in the state reported having a major depressive episode from 2008 – 2009, down slightly from the previous year where it was 6.1 percent.
- The suicide rate in California has consistently remained lower than the national average at 10.3 percent compared to 12.1 percent nationally.
The state continues to try to help the large numbers of children and adults afflicted by mental illness. In 2018, the Governor signed Senate Bill 215 amending the Penal Code to include pretrial diversion as an option for offenders with a diagnosable mental illness. A defendant must show that they have a qualifying mental disorder and that the mental disorder was a significant factor in the commission of the charged offense.