The Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health (DMH)

The Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health (DMH) is the largest county mental health department in the country. DMH directly operates 75 program sites and more than 100 co-located sites. DMH contracts with approximately 1,000 providers, including non-governmental agencies and individual practitioners who provide a spectrum of mental health services to people of all ages to support, hope, wellness and recovery.

The department’s diverse workforce, includes nurses, psychiatrists, psychologists, social workers, marriage and family therapists, medical doctors, community workers, trained family members, and trained mental health consumers, serve over 250,000 residents of all ages each year.

Mission

Enriching lives through partnership designed to strengthen the community’s capacity to support recovery and resiliency is the department’s Mission. DMH works with its stakeholders and community partners to provide clinically competent, culturally sensitive and linguistically appropriate mental health services to their clients in the least restrictive manner possible. They tailor their services and support to help clients and families achieve their personal goals, increase their ability to achieve independence and develop skills to support their leading the most constructive and satisfying life possible.

Services

Mental health services provided include assessments, case management, crisis intervention, medication support, peer support and other rehabilitative services. Services are provided in multiple settings including residential facilities, clinics, schools, hospitals, county jails, juvenile halls and camps, mental health courts, board and care homes, in the field and in people’s homes. Special emphasis is placed on addressing co-occurring mental health disorders and other health problems such as addiction. The Department also provides counseling to victims of natural or manmade disasters, their families and emergency first responders. The Director of Mental Health is responsible for protecting patients’ rights in all public and private hospitals and programs providing voluntary mental health care and treatment, and all contracted community-based programs. The Director also serves as the public guardian for individuals gravely disabled by mental illness, and is the conservatorship investigation officer for the County.

Service Recipients

DMH’s services to adults and older adults are focused on those who are functionally disabled by severe and persistent mental illness, including those who are low-income, uninsured, temporarily impaired, or in situational crises. Services to children and youth are focused on those who are seriously emotionally disturbed and diagnosed with a mental disorder. They include wards or dependents of the juvenile court, children in psychiatric inpatient facilities, seriously emotionally disturbed youth in the community, and special education students referred by local schools and educational institutions.

The Department also provides counseling to victims of natural or manmade disasters, their families and emergency first responders. The Director of Mental Health is responsible for protecting patients’ rights in all public and private hospitals and programs providing voluntary mental health care and treatment, and all contracted community-based programs. The Director also serves as the public guardian for individuals gravely disabled by mental illness, and is the conservatorship investigation officer for the County.

Wellness and Recovery Outcomes
 Their goal  is to help our clients and families to:

·      Achieve their recovery goals;

·      Find a safe place for them to live;

·      Use their time in a meaningful way;

·      Have healthy relationships;

·      Access public assistance when necessary;

·      Weather crises successfully; and

·      Have the best possible physical health.

If you need immediate assistance or need to find services in your area please contact Access Center 24/7 Helpline at 1-800-854-7771.

  

Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health provides a range of programs and services designed for older adults (60+) who reside in Los Angeles County. Mental Health services are available though directly operated and contract agencies throughout the County. Services in these agencies typically involve screening and assessment, case management services, individual and family treatment and crisis intervention services.

In addition to providing services tailored to each age group, Children (0-15 yrs), Transition Age Youth (16-25 yrs), Adult (26-59 yrs) and Older Adults (60 and over), DMH also provides countywide services to help clients and families regardless of age and designed to serve people throughout the County.

Per DMH´s Mission Statement, the Department responds to the community´s disaster service needs according to the following order of priority:

·      Care for emergency needs of employees, visitors and clients housed within each DMH facility, with emphasis on evacuation of the building

·      Provide emergency psychiatric intervention to persons in crisis who are dangerous to themselves or others.

·      Participate in legally mandated proceedings which must meet specified immediate statutory deadlines, such as judicial and administrative hearings, unless suspended by the court.

·      Provide clinical services to mental health consumers who are disaster victims

·      Provide crisis intervention services to persons not considered dangerous to themselves or others.

·      Provide and coordinate mental health services for general disaster victims

·      Provide routine. Ongoing mental health services to current, predisaster consumers.

·        ABOUT PUBLIC GUARDIAN
The Public Guardian provides a vital service to persons unable to properly care for themselves or who are unable to manage their finances. The service is provided through a legal process known as conservatorship. Persons in need of conservatorship are physically or mentally disabled to the point where they cannot utilize community services and resources. They usually have no family or friends able or willing to help.

·        The Los Angeles County Office of the Public Guardian was established in 1945 - the first in the state. Initially, the primary responsibility was for the finances of persons civilly committed to psychiatric facilities. As society evolved and the laws changed to meet new social challenges, the role of the Public Guardian broadened to include more responsibility for the care of the individual. The landmark LPS Act of 1969 and subsequent changes to the Probate Code meant that the Public Guardian became the substitute decision maker for vulnerable populations of the county, such as the frail elderly and persons with serious mental illness.

·        The Los Angeles County Office of the Public Guardian is organizationally located within the Department of Mental Health. Dr. Marvin Southard, Director of the Department of Mental Health has been appointed by the Board of Supervisors as the Public Guardian and County Conservatorship Investigator. Office of the Public Guardian operations is managed by Deputy Director Connie D. Draxler.

Child Mental Health Services in Los Angeles County are targeted for children from birth to 15 who are seriously emotionally disturbed (SED) and have been diagnosed with a mental disorder. Our goal is to enable children with behavioral disorders to remain at home, succeed in school and avoid involvement with the juvenile justice system. A wide range of services are provided to these children and their families through a network of County-operated and contracted agencies across all eight service areas of Los Angeles County as well as several programs and services that are delivered Countywide.

The Transition Age Youth (TAY) Division seeks to provide an array of mental health and supportive services for Seriously Emotionally Disturbed (SED) and Severe and Persistently Mentally Ill (SPMI) youth ages 16-25. The TAY Division has identified a number of priority TAY populations to receive these services; along with a specific emphasis on outreaching and engaging TAY who are currently unserved and underserved.

The Department of mental Health also has housing programs for people with mental health issues.  Call:  Housing 

Specialist Services Kimberly Hairston (213) 738-2680 Khairston@dmh.lacounty.gov.

Hotline
For free, confidential mental health information, referrals to service providers, and crisis counseling at any day or time, call our 24/7 ACCESS hotline at 1-800-854-7771.

For life threatening emergencies, please call 911.

Crisis Line
County Crisis Line
1-800-854-7771