Skip to page content

California

Featured

With its headquarters campus in Santa Monica, RAND has an understandable interest in addressing issues relevant to its longtime base. In fact, RAND's research on California and its communities spans a wide analytical range, from health, education, and justice issues to military, security, and transportation.

Commentary
California Needs 1.2 Million New Homes. How Will It Get There?
Voluntary incentives foster increased production of affordable housing, while mandates alone increase the cost of producing housing, dampening both market-rate and affordable housing production. It is well past time to acknowledge the evidence and focus on the adoption of voluntary programs that incentivize the rapid creation of dense, infill housing available at both affordable and market rents.
May 13, 2022
Report
California's Edible Food Recovery Mandate: One Solution for Two Problems
Organic waste in landfills emits 20 percent of California's methane, and about 1.1 million tons of potentially donatable food were discarded in 2018. California's food recovery mandate, Senate Bill 1383, could make an important contribution toward mitigating the climate crisis and food insecurity.
Jun 21, 2022

Explore California

Report
Transforming the Housing Choice Voucher System in California
What are the impacts and shortcomings of the housing choice voucher (HCV) program, and what are the potential effects of reforms to stabilize access to affordable housing for the most-vulnerable Californians?
Sep 29, 2021
Commentary
Renters' Last Chance for Pandemic Aid Before Evictions Resume
The pandemic has battered Los Angeles renters, and a new wave of pain is coming with the moratorium on evictions ending September 30. But this housing crisis doesn't have to turn into a new homelessness crisis. Californians with incomes below 80 percent of their area's median are eligible to receive funds from the COVID-19 Rent Relief program.
Sep 24, 2021
Report
Examining Implementation of the Los Angeles County Office of Diversion and Reentry Supportive Housing Program
The authors describe the implementation of the Office of Diversion and Reentry's Housing Program in Los Angeles County, a jail-based diversion program for those with mental health diagnoses.
Sep 23, 2021
Research Brief
First Responder Claims for PTSD in Workers' Compensation: Assessing the Effects of Senate Bill 542 in California
Under California's Senate Bill 542, which creates a legal presumption that posttraumatic stress disorder in firefighters and peace officers is a work-related injury, additional costs to state and local governments could be large but are uncertain.
Sep 20, 2021
Report
Posttraumatic Stress in California's Workers' Compensation System: A Study of Mental Health Presumptions for Firefighters and Peace Officers Under Senate Bill 542
The authors evaluate the prevalence of mental health conditions among first responders in California and discuss policy implications, with a focus on how posttraumatic stress disorder is handled in the state's workers' compensation system.
Sep 20, 2021
Blog
Prescription Drug Prices, Unemployment Insurance, Anti-Asian Racism: RAND Weekly Recap
This weekly recap focuses on lowering prescription drug prices, reforming unemployment insurance, addressing anti-Asian racism, and more.
Sep 17, 2021
News Release
Stronger Leadership Action in L.A. Sheriff's Department Needed to Curb Influence of Problematic Subgroups, Address ...
Leadership of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department can best discourage involvement in deputy subgroups by clarifying current policy language to prohibit subgroups, and by delivering strong and consistent messages to its staff opposing membership in the groups and related banned conduct.
Sep 10, 2021
Report
Stronger Leadership Action in L.A. Sheriff's Department Is Needed to Curb Problematic Subgroups
The Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department has been subject to allegations about secret subgroups of deputies who have allegedly mistreated community members and coworkers. LASD leadership can best discourage such behavior with clearer policies to prohibit subgroups and consistent messages to its staff.
Sep 10, 2021
Research Brief
Helping Los Angelenos Involved in the Criminal Justice System Get and Keep Jobs
Project imPACT is a City of Los Angeles program that helps individuals find employment after they are released from prison. Participants may also receive behavioral health and legal services. An evaluation of the program offers important lessons about its successes and challenges.
Aug 16, 2021
Report
Project imPACT Cohort 1 Final Local Evaluation Report
The authors summarize findings from a process and outcome evaluation of Cohort 1 of Project imPACT, an employment program for individuals who have been involved in the criminal justice system, which provided services from July 2018 to December 2020.
Aug 16, 2021
Blog
Media Literacy, Internet of Bodies, Arctic Governance: RAND Weekly Recap
This weekly recap focuses on teaching media literacy in schools, a “connected future” via the Internet of Bodies, gaps in Arctic governance, and more.
Aug 6, 2021
News Release
Labor Regulations Attached to Proposition HHH Lowered Los Angeles Housing Production Through Increased Costs, Developer ...
A project labor agreement requiring that a primarily union workforce be used for housing projects for the homeless in Los Angeles appears to be one reason that the city's $1.2 billion Proposition HHH ballot initiative is falling short of its goal.
Aug 2, 2021
Report
Effects of Project Labor Agreements on Affordable Housing Production
A project labor agreement requiring that a primarily union workforce be used for housing projects for people experiencing homelessness in Los Angeles appears to be one reason that the city's $1.2 billion Proposition HHH ballot initiative is falling short of its goal.
Aug 2, 2021
Journal Article
Data-driven Decision Support Tools for Assessing the Vulnerability of Community Water Systems to Groundwater Contamination in Los Angeles County
This research aims to develop an easy to deploy, data-driven method to identify community water systems that are vulnerable to drinking water quality degradation from groundwater contamination.
Jul 28, 2021
Multimedia
Meeting the Needs of the Mental Health Population in the LA County Jail System
Behavioral scientist Stephanie Holliday discusses her study that aimed to estimate the size of the mental health population in the Los Angeles County jail system that might be appropriate for diversion to community-based treatment rather than remaining and receiving treatments while incarcerated.
Jul 26, 2021
Commentary
Investing in Social Change: Lessons Learned from Foundation-Funded Criminal Justice Research
Investing in policy-focused research can be among the ways foundations catalyze change. Impactful work may involve strong collaborations across funders, researchers, and community partners. And it may require flexibility in design and execution as well as a commitment to getting the findings into the hands of decisionmakers who can use the findings to create change.
Jul 20, 2021
Report
Stress-Testing California's COVID-19 Reopening Strategy
States' reopening plans vary widely. With a revised RAND decision support tool, researchers tested alternative plans, using California as an example. The best strategies did not prematurely relax measures like indoor mask-wearing; began with a high level of caution; were tied to vaccination rates; and made changes gradually.
May 10, 2021
Report
Evaluating Los Angeles County's COVID-19 Mental Health Campaign
In response to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health launched a campaign to promote awareness of county mental health resources and communicate messages of hope and support. RAND evaluators found that the campaign successfully reached residents, fostered a feeling of support among those it reached, and conveyed how to seek mental health help.
May 4, 2021
Journal Article
A Qualitative Evaluation of Housing for Health in Los Angeles County
This study uses data from 14 qualitative interviews with senior leaders and nine focus groups with tenants and program staff to understand tenant experiences with permanent supportive housing programs, as they relate to care coordination.
Apr 13, 2021
Content
RAND Center on Housing and Homelessness in Los Angeles
The Center on Housing and Homelessness in Los Angeles works to address the challenges of providing affordable housing solutions in one of the most expensive housing markets in the nation and better understand and serve the needs of people experiencing homelessness.
Mar 25, 2021

Previous
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
Next

Research conducted by