Conrad Gail

A Survey of Mental Health Practices in California Community Colleges Conrad Gail

The purpose of this research study was to identify the services available in California community colleges and to identify effective practices that support students with psychological disabilities to be successful. With the passage of Proposition 63 in California, the Mental Health Services Act of November 2004 became law and a taxpayer's taxable income in excess of one million dollars now has an additional 1% tax. These funds were to be used to transform the public mental health systems without supplanting existing mental health budgets. These funds would support the development of new services in the community colleges in conjunction with the California Department of Mental Health. This study will analyze the data from a survey that collected information on services currently available at the community colleges in California and services that are desired by college staff to provide necessary support to students with psychological disabilities. A quantitative analysis was conducted on the data, collected in May, 2009, through a survey of the 110 community colleges throughout the state of California.