More young Californians than ever are reporting mental health issues, with wide disparities in access to support, particularly in low-income, underserved “behavioral health care deserts.” At the same time, a critical workforce shortage persists — both in the number of available professionals and in the level of training needed to effectively serve these diverse Los Angeles communities — limiting access to care that can be lifesaving.
Thanks to a $33 million award from the philanthropic organization Ballmer Group, UCLA will address this issue by broadening its efforts to improve youth mental health across Los Angeles. Beginning this fall, the university intends to launch or expand three coordinated initiatives across campus. These initiatives — designed to leverage UCLA’s robust population of undergraduate, graduate, medical and postdoctoral trainees eager to be part of the solution — will increase access to training, academic resources and early-career opportunities, ultimately strengthening and enlarging the pipeline of current and future professionals who are able to prevent and respond to youth mental health issues.
Funding will be distributed across three distinguished programs: the department of psychology in the UCLA College, the department of social welfare at the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs and the department of psychiatry and biobehavioral sciences at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. Additionally, the investment will build on UCLA’s longstanding Public Partnership for Wellbeing training and professional development programs with the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health, administered by the Jane and Terry Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior at UCLA.
“UCLA is not just a university in Los Angeles, it is a university of Los Angeles — so it is critical for us to address the growing youth mental health crisis in our community,” said UCLA Chancellor Julio Frenk. “The generosity of Ballmer Group will enable UCLA to equip more professionals with the skills and deep knowledge needed to care for young people and their families.”
This grant is part of an overall $110 million investment that Ballmer Group simultaneously made to Cal State Los Angeles and Cal State Dominguez Hills. Addressing a significant portion of Los Angeles County’s projected workforce need, the three universities will support almost 2,600 new behavioral health graduates by 2031, with exponentially more on the horizon.
A campuswide push to expand compassionate, informed care
The three selected Bruin programs are ideally positioned across UCLA and throughout LA communities to make the most of this investment, which dovetails with the spirit of UCLA’s Hope Connects Us student mental health campaign as well as recent gifts to UCLA from Stewart and Lynda Resnick and Rose and Allen Nelson to advance mental health care and research.
The department of psychology — UCLA’s largest undergraduate program — intends to use its portion of the funding to support and expand a new minor in youth behavioral health, led by Bruce Chorpita, a professor of psychology and of psychiatry and biobehavioral sciences.
Through its highly innovative curriculum and internships in community settings, the minor will prepare students for careers in behavioral health at an even greater scale. Students who complete the minor will have met all the requirements for the California Wellness Coach credential, as well as the majority of hours required for the Managing and Adapting Practice therapist credential — currently the most in-demand youth public behavioral health credential in LA County.
“We are grateful for and energized by this exciting chapter for our psychology department,” said Tracy Johnson, dean of the life sciences division in the UCLA College. “Every student UCLA empowers with the knowledge, empathy and skills they need to create meaningful change in the lives of individuals and communities benefits us all. Together, we’re building a better future of expanded access to compassionate, informed care.”
UCLA Luskin’s social welfare department will increase the pipeline of licensed clinical professionals providing youth with behavioral health and well-being services. This effort, guided by Poco Kernsmith, professor and chair of the department, will involve simultaneously developing fellowships, more hands-on training opportunities and expanded partnerships with community nonprofits to support innovative prevention and intervention programs.
“We are absolutely delighted and grateful to Ballmer Group for making this transformational investment in UCLA Luskin, where our department of social welfare is dedicated to tackling a worsening youth mental health crisis in our country,” said Anastasia Loukaitou-Sideris, the school’s interim dean. “The fellowships from the grant will train the best and brightest social workers, equipping them with the knowledge and tools to improve community mental health in our city and beyond.”
The David Geffen School of Medicine will use its portion of the grant to further prepare and empower postdoctoral trainees to help shape the mental health treatment landscape of Southern California.
Under the leadership of Dr. Helena Hansen, interim chair of the medical school’s department of psychiatry and biobehavioral sciences, the invesment will enhance three fellowships currently run by the department: the child and adolescent psychiatry fellowship, the child-focused public psychiatry fellowship and the recently launched child psychology postdoctoral community-focused fellowship.
“We are deeply grateful for Ballmer Group’s generous investment, which expands our ability to recruit and train exceptional postdoctoral fellows,” said Dr. Steven Dubinett, dean of the Geffen School of Medicine. “This grant will strengthen our partnership with the LA County Department of Mental Health and build a robust pipeline of future leaders skilled in policy advocacy and prepared to serve underresourced communities. It will have a lasting impact on the accessibility and quality of mental health care across our region.”
Looking forward
UCLA’s new collaboration with Ballmer Group — which acknowledges and builds on the university’s deep ties across Southern California and its active engagement with the region’s diverse communities — will help magnify the critical impact of the departments of psychology, social welfare, and psychiatry and biobehavioral sciences, along with the Semel Institute, in educating future practitioners and addressing regional mental health challenges.
“Los Angeles County’s youth mental health crisis demands a stronger pipeline of clinicians and community-based providers — and that starts with training, early-career opportunities and partnerships that meet young people where they are,” said Kim Pattillo Brownson, director of strategy, policy and partnerships for Ballmer Group Los Angeles. “UCLA’s ability to bring together world-class research, workforce development and deep community collaboration makes it a powerful partner in expanding access to care for families and communities across Los Angeles County.”
With hundreds of UCLA students at every level projected to take part in the new and enhanced programs beginning this fall — from undergraduate education and graduate student training to advanced clinical preparation — the impact will be felt immediately, UCLA officials said. And the new investment is expected to spark even farther-reaching collaborations, signaling an important step toward realizing a more holistic and impactful approach that elevates all aspects of mental health care for young people across the region.
