Evaluating the California Mental Health Services Authority's Stigma and Discrimination Reduction Initiative

When California voters passed Proposition 63 — the Mental Health Services Act — in 2004, the state and counties were mandated to develop an approach to providing prevention and early intervention services and education for Californians. In turn, the California Mental Health Services Authority — a coalition of California counties designed to provide economic and administrative support to mental health service delivery — began a program to reduce adverse outcomes for Californians who experience mental illness through three strategic initiatives by developing statewide capacities and implementing interventions to (1) reduce stigma and discrimination toward those with mental illness, (2) prevent suicide, and (3) improve student mental health.

This document summarizes first-year findings from an ongoing evaluation of the program's stigma and discrimination reduction (SDR) initiative. It describes what the activities partners in the SDR initiative are engaging in; what they have accomplished in terms of developing policies, protocols, procedures, informational and online resources, education and trainings, and media-related strategies to reduce stigma and discrimination; and what the plans for the future evaluation of the SDR initiative are.