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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.

News Release

News Release

Evaluation of Mental Health Service Act in L.A. County Shows Services Reaching Those in Need

Funding from California's special tax for mental health services has allowed Los Angeles County to reach the seriously mentally ill and those at risk for mental illness with services and prevention efforts, lowering both homelessness and the need for psychiatric hospitalizations, while improving employment and wellbeing.

Mar 13, 2018
Research Brief

The Mental Health Services Act in Los Angeles County: Evaluating Program Reach and Outcomes

RAND researchers examined the geographic and demographic reach of Mental Health Services Act-funded activities in Los Angeles County and assessed their impact on clients.

Mar 13, 2018
Report

Evaluation of Mental Health Service Act in L.A. County Shows Services Reaching Those in Need

Funding from California's special tax for mental health services has allowed Los Angeles County to help people with serious mental illness and those at risk. These efforts have lowered homelessness and the need for psychiatric hospitalizations, while improving employment and well-being.

Mar 13, 2018
Commentary

Los Angeles Tackles Homelessness with an Innovative Housing Program That Saves Money

Los Angeles County's Housing for Health program addresses an important public health issue by providing housing and supportive services to some of the most vulnerable people in our community. The program also saves taxpayers money.

Jan 18, 2018
Research Brief

Housing for Health: Reducing Homelessness in Los Angeles

Housing for Health, a division of the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services, launched a permanent housing program for people experiencing homelessness. For every $1 invested in the program, the county saved $1.20 in reduced health care and social service costs.

Dec 27, 2017
News Release

News Release

Supportive Housing for Individuals Experiencing Homelessness in Los Angeles Saves Money During First Year

A public-private effort to provide permanent supportive housing to people in Los Angeles County with complex medical and behavioral health issues who were experiencing homelessness caused a significant drop in their use of public services, resulting in an overall savings to local government.

Dec 5, 2017
Report

Supportive Housing May Pay for Itself

Housing for Health provides permanent supportive housing to people in Los Angeles County with complex medical and behavioral health issues. Evaluation after one year revealed dramatic reductions in their use of public services, such as emergency medical care, resulting in a net cost savings of 20 percent.

Dec 5, 2017
Journal Article

A Climate Stress Test of Los Angeles' Water Quality Plans

Overall, this study suggests that climate change and land use can significantly affect TMDL implementation plans; identifies how one such plan might be modified to address the resulting vulnerabilities; and demonstrates how robust decision making methods, employed with existing simulation models, may be able to generate legally acceptable plans that are robust and flexible in the face of climate and other uncertainties.

Sep 20, 2017
Report

Report

Can an Informative Letter Reduce Gun Crime and Be Cost-Effective? A Study of Los Angeles

This report evaluates the effect of the letters sent by the Los Angeles City Attorney's Office on city-level rates of homicide, robbery, and aggravated assault with a firearm and conducts a cost-benefit assessment of this letter program.

Aug 2, 2017
News Release

News Release

Too Little Evidence Available to Determine Cost Savings of Crime Reform Initiative for Los Angeles County

While a California ballot initiative reducing penalties for some criminal offenses promised to save local governments money, quantifying such savings will require significant changes in the way local agencies track workloads.

Jun 15, 2017
Report

Too Little Evidence Available to Determine Cost Savings of Crime Reform Initiative for Los Angeles County

While a California ballot initiative reducing penalties for some criminal offenses promised to save local governments money, quantifying such savings will require significant changes in the way local agencies track workloads.

Jun 15, 2017
Report

A Psychometric Study of the Modified Bridges for Newborns Screening Tool

This report describes RAND Corporation work evaluating the psychometric characteristics of the Modified Bridges for Newborns, a screening tool to identify high-risk mothers in Los Angeles Count who are eligible for supportive services.

Feb 6, 2017
Journal Article

Journal Article

The Role of Faith-Based Organizations in the Depression Care of African Americans and Hispanics in Los Angeles

Compared with non-Hispanic whites and US-born Hispanics, a larger proportion of African Americans and Hispanics used depression care provided by community faith-based organizations.

Nov 29, 2016
Journal Article

Journal Article

A Cost-Effectiveness Analysis of Preexposure Prophylaxis for the Prevention of HIV Among Los Angeles County Men Who Have Sex with Men

Some strategies for treating high-risk individuals before HIV infection can be cost effective while helping to reduce incidence of the disease.

Nov 29, 2016
Report

City of Los Angeles Neighborhood Parks: Research Findings and Policy Implications (2003–2015)

This report summarizes more than a decade of research on how well neighborhood parks in Los Angeles support physical activity. Between 2003 and 2015, researchers observed 83 parks and fielded nearly 28,000 surveys of park users and local residents.

Nov 1, 2016
Journal Article

Journal Article

Achieving Broad Participation in Congregational Health Surveys at African American and Latino Churches

Participation in church-wide surveys of sensitive health issues can be enhanced by holding survey sessions after religious services, collaborating with congregational leaders, and tailoring surveys to the cultural and organizational contexts.

Sep 15, 2016
Journal Article

Journal Article

Community Engagement Compared with Technical Assistance to Disseminate Depression Care Among Low-Income, Minority Women: A Randomized Controlled Effectiveness Study

Community engagement approaches to health and social programs may offer modest improvements on depression outcomes among low-income minority women.

Sep 13, 2016
Dissertation

Exploring Sources of Innovation in the Knowledge-Based Economy: The Case of Los Angeles

Uses a mix of both quantitative and qualitative methods to help policy makers identify sources of innovation in the knowledge-based economy and to best leverage these sources for regional economic growth.

Jul 15, 2016
Journal Article

Southern California Middle School Students Exposed to More Than Three Alcohol Ads Each Day

African American and Hispanic youths are exposed to an average of 4.1 and 3.4 alcohol ads per day respectively, while white youths are exposed to an average of two ads per day. Greater restrictions on alcohol advertising outdoors and on television should be considered.

Jun 24, 2016
Journal Article

Journal Article

Validation of a New Counter for Direct Observation of Physical Activity in Parks

This assessed the reliability of a tool (a 12-button counter) used to assess physical activity in parks.

Jun 6, 2016

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