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Los Angeles

With its headquarters campus in Santa Monica, the Los Angeles area is understandably the focal point of significant RAND interest. Research on Los Angeles and its surrounding communities spans a wide analytical range, from policing, airport and harbor security, and traffic congestion to education, child care, health, and demographic issues.

Journal Article

Journal Article

Locating Medical and Recreational Cannabis Outlets for Research Purposes: Online Methods and Observational Study

This paper describes the methods that build on previous efforts by providing a detailed methodology that can be replicated in large metropolitan areas that have legalized the sale of cannabis.

Mar 5, 2020
Report

Evaluation of Los Angeles County's 2019 Moral Injury Conference

RAND evaluated the reach and impact of a moral injury conference and its goals to deepen knowledge about moral injury and effective recovery strategies and to strengthen collaborative connections.

Mar 4, 2020
Blog

Russian Subversion, Truth Decay, Supervised Drug Consumption Sites: RAND Weekly Recap

This weekly recap focuses on responding to Russian subversion, how the media can help fight Truth Decay, the first supervised drug consumption site in the United States, artificial intelligence, and more.

Feb 28, 2020
Essay

Supportive Housing Can Help Keep People with Mental Illness Out of Jail

Hundreds of thousands of people with serious mental illnesses cycle in and out of American jails every year. In Los Angeles, some of them are getting diverted into a supportive housing program where they can get the treatment they need. And the results are promising.

Feb 27, 2020
Commentary

Green Infrastructure in Los Angeles: An Olympian Feat

Los Angeles has an opportunity to reinvent itself by harnessing the collective spirit of Olympics development, climate activism, and Measure W funding. No single project can address all LA's environmental needs, but many diverse projects could provide an opportunity for synergies and to create a new “city feel,” the way palm trees, traffic, and movie-touting billboards do now.

Feb 11, 2020
Commentary

Los Angeles River Revitalization: Taking Inspiration from Near and Far

Currently a predominantly concrete channel running through the city, the Los Angeles River has great potential to revitalize Los Angeles's water resources, landscape, and identity. Creating a new vision for the river presents a complex challenge for policymakers, engineers, and urban planners.

Feb 4, 2020
Research Brief

Research Brief

Los Angeles County Jails Could Divert More Individuals to Community-Based Mental Health Services

Summarizes findings of a report in which researchers estimated the percentage of individuals with mental health disorders in Los Angeles County jails who could be diverted from traditional criminal justice processing to community-based care.

Feb 3, 2020
Commentary

More Than Stormwater: How Green Infrastructure Offers Multiple Benefits for Los Angeles Communities

California faces water supply shortages, which are worsened by climate change. Applying a systems framework is essential to addressing complex problems for the sustainability of water resources.

Jan 29, 2020
Blog

Iran, Mental Health and Jail, Russia: RAND Weekly Recap

This weekly recap focuses on Iran and Iraq following the killing of Iranian General Qassem Soleimani, supporting those experiencing mental illness in jails, Russia's hostile measures, and more.

Jan 10, 2020
News Release

News Release

More Than Half of Those in Mental Health Unit at L.A. Jail Could Be Diverted to Community Programs

More than 3,300 people in the mental health population of the Los Angeles County Jail are appropriate candidates for diversion into programs where they would receive community-based clinical services rather than incarceration.

Jan 7, 2020
Report

Many Detainees with Mental Illness Could Be Safely Diverted to Community Care

In June 2019, more than 5,500 people in Los Angeles County jails were in mental health housing units and/or were taking psychotropic medications. Based on legal and clinical factors, 61 percent of these individuals were likely eligible for release into community-based treatment.

Jan 7, 2020
Report

Implementing a New Mobility Vision for Rancho Higuera in a Deeply Uncertain, Fast-Changing World: Results from RAND Corporation Participatory Local Planning Workshops

Culver City seeks to reimagine mobility, shifting from cars to other transit modes. A RAND team helped the city develop an implementation plan using decision making under deep uncertainty (DMDU) methods embedded in a participatory "shadow" process.

Jan 3, 2020
Journal Article

Journal Article

Co-use of Tobacco and Marijuana Among Young People Experiencing Homelessness in Los Angeles County

The present study is a first step in understanding the prevalence, types, and correlates of co-use in a probability sample of young tobacco users experiencing homelessness.

Dec 20, 2019
Testimony

Proposition 63 and the Future of Mental Health Funding in California

Proposition 63 greatly increased funding for mental health in California, including an extensive expansion of prevention and early intervention (PEI) programming. Could the state benefit from an even larger investment in PEI? Lessons from RAND's eight years of evaluating Prop. 63 offer insights into its successes and challenges.

Dec 12, 2019
Journal Article

Journal Article

Health, Homelessness Severity, and Substance Use Among Sexual Minority Youth Experiencing Homelessness: A Comparison of Bisexual Versus Gay and Lesbian Youth

We examined subgroup differences in homelessness severity, depression, physical health, and substance use, focusing on differences between bisexual and gay/lesbian youth, among homeless youth in Los Angeles.

Dec 11, 2019
Content

Daniel J. Epstein: Aiming to Improve the Lives of Homeless Veterans

A million-dollar gift from Daniel J. Epstein is funding a research project to understand what life is really like for veterans on the streets of Los Angeles, and what could help get them into permanent housing.

Nov 14, 2019
Essay

A Novel Approach to Helping People Returning from Prison

Many services try to address the needs of individuals returning from prison, but they're often designed without much input from the very people who need the services. A group of county agencies, service providers, and former prisoners collaborated to identify ways to improve reentry services in Los Angeles.

Oct 30, 2019
Dissertation

Dissertation

Three Essays on Minority and Immigrant Outcomes in a New Era of Immigration Enforcement: Evidence from Los Angeles

Seeks to disentangle the structural factors that affect levels of economic and social integration of minority and immigrant populations.

Sep 13, 2019
Report

Report

Los Angeles County Office of Diversion and Reentry's Supportive Housing Program: A Study of Participants' Housing Stability and New Felony Convictions

Los Angeles County is home to the largest jail system in the world and an acute homelessness problem. This report presents generally favorable early interim findings about an initiative that provides housing coupled with case management.

Jul 25, 2019
Report

Results of the Co-Design of Services for Health and Reentry (CO-SHARE) Study

Individuals returning to the community from jail often face difficulties accessing services that improve reentry and reduce recidivism. RAND reviewed a pilot study in Los Angeles County, the Co-Design of Services for Health and Reentry (CO-SHARE), that encouraged returning individuals and service providers to collaborate on improving health and reentry services.

Jul 24, 2019

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