According to a RAND Institute study, California currently has 16,847 psychiatric beds, a figure that includes hospitals. The study, conducted in 2022, found that the state has a shortage of beds at all levels of care.

We estimated that California has a total of 5,975 beds at the acute level (19.5 per 100,000 adults) and 4,724 at the subacute level (15.4 per 100,000 adults)—excluding state hospital beds. If state hospital beds are included, these figures increase to 7,679 (25.1 per 100,000 adults) and 9,168 beds (29.9 per 100,000 adults), respectively.

Treatment and Housing for Those Who Need it Most: $10.9 billion to create approximately 24,800 beds/units. It also creates 45,800 outpatient treatment slots for Californians with behavioral health issues across the spectrum — everything from intense, inpatient care, to substance abuse treatment, to outpatient care and counseling.

The two-bill package modernizes the State’s behavioral health care system and includes a $4.68 billion bond to build 10,000 new behavioral health beds and housing units to meet current and future needs of Californians.

This effort will build 10,000 new treatment beds and housing units, helping serve over 100,000 people each year, with $6.38 billion funded by a bond on the March 2024 ballot to provide the resources needed to care for and house those with the most severe mental health needs and substance use disorders.