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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.

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, 5,544 individuals in Los Angeles County jails were in mental health housing units and/or taking psychotropic medications. Based on legal and clinical factors, 61 percent of them 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
News Release

Young Adults Who Live Near Medical Marijuana Dispensaries Use Marijuana More Often, Have More-Positive Views

Young adults who live in neighborhoods with more medical marijuana dispensaries use marijuana more frequently than their peers and have more-positive views about the drug. The associations were strongest among young adults who lived near dispensaries that had storefront signs.

Jun 17, 2019
Dissertation

Dissertation

The Criminal Justice System and More Lenient Drug Policy: Three Case Studies on California's Changes to How Its Criminal Justice System Addresses Drug Use

Explores California's recent liberal policies, mostly associated to drug-related crimes, to provide implications for future policymaking.

Apr 15, 2019
Commentary

How to Ensure Quality Drinking Water Service for All? One Option Is Fewer Utilities.

California's Human Right to Water Bill declares that “every human being has the right to safe, clean, affordable, and accessible water.” One clear barrier to reaching this target is the sheer number of small water utilities that pose service sustainability and public health risks to their customers.

Mar 26, 2019
Commentary

How Water Systems Can Learn From Smart Electric Grids

As drought and population growth place increasing pressure on water supply, the need to save and efficiently manage Southern California's water resources becomes increasingly critical. A single information and communication technology platform could go a long way toward moving water utilities from reactive to proactive maintenance practices.

Mar 22, 2019
Commentary

Increasing Groundwater Reliance in L.A. County Means Dealing with Extensive Contamination

As the Los Angeles region increases its reliance on groundwater sources to become more resilient in the face of drought and to reduce demand for imported water sources, advances in the information available on groundwater quality and contamination could help community water systems avoid health hazards and better ensure a safe drinking water supply.

Mar 12, 2019
Commentary

Is Los Angeles County Successfully Creating a Youth Movement Around Mental Health Issues?

A new community engagement campaign called WhyWeRise seeks to increase awareness of mental health access as a civil rights issue and increase civic engagement. The campaign reached its target audience—people aged 14 to 24—and showed signs of changing attitudes toward mental illness.

Dec 6, 2018
News Release

News Release

Youth-Oriented Mental Health Campaign Shows Evidence of Success

A community engagement campaign launched by Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health to address mental health barriers had an impressive reach with the younger audience it targeted and showed signs of changing attitudes.

Nov 14, 2018
Research Brief

Evaluating Los Angeles County's Mental Health Community Engagement Campaign

The WeRise/WhyWeRise campaign targeted young people to encourage them to engage with mental health issues and create a movement to lower barriers to mental health access. People exposed to the campaign reported more-supportive attitudes toward people with mental illness and greater mobilization toward action around mental health issues.

Nov 13, 2018

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