This paper examines the psychological and mental health services available to non-English speaking residents in California's Central Valley. It surveys funding initiatives from the California Endowment, the role of telehealth technology, and the contributions of community organizations serving Asian, Latino, Native American, and other immigrant populations. The paper also reviews policy changes in the Fresno County Mental Health Plan and findings from a two-year Sacramento study on immigrant mental health needs. The analysis concludes that while services have expanded significantly, culturally specific and bilingual programs remain insufficient, and additional targeted funding is needed to adequately serve the region's diverse population.
The paper demonstrates effective use of the evidence-to-argument progression: each paragraph introduces a specific program or policy, cites its source, and then connects it back to the overarching argument about service gaps for non-English speaking populations. This keeps the survey organized and purposeful rather than simply descriptive.
The paper opens with a brief introduction establishing the problem, then moves through grant-funded initiatives, community-based organizations, formal policy changes at the county level, and a two-year research study. The conclusion synthesizes these threads into a call for more culturally tailored funding. Each section advances the paper's central claim that current services, while improving, are still insufficient.
In the multicultural area of California's Central Valley, there are many challenges when navigating the health care system, and one of the more pressing concerns is serving the region's diverse population. For many residents, English is a second language, which can create significant barriers when attempting to find health care or psychological services. While services are available for non-English speaking people in the area, more effort must be placed on reaching a more diverse population.
This paper discusses the psychological services available in the Central Valley for non-English speaking residents. It examines the positive aspects of current programs and addresses possible future initiatives that could assist non-English speaking residents in obtaining psychological services.
There have been numerous improvements in the psychological services offered to non-English speaking residents in the Central Valley, even in recent years. According to the California Endowment, a nonprofit organization committed to improving the health of Californians, multiple grants have been awarded to organizations within the Central Valley in an effort to expand psychological services for non-English speaking residents. In 1999 alone, over $33 million was distributed to areas working to improve services (California Endowment Report, 2001).
One such grant helped establish the California Telehealth and Telemedicine Center (CTTC), a subsidiary of the California Health Foundation and Trust. Recognizing that many underserved and inner-city residents were of non-English speaking origin, the Center was designed to assist those unable to seek alternative solutions for mental health issues. Based in Sacramento, the CTTC supports organizations that use communication technologies to reach isolated and non-English speaking patients who would otherwise have no access to psychological care. Rather than requiring these patients to seek out services offered in their languages, patients can now call a centralized number and speak with a representative in their native language. Services are delivered through telepsychiatry, enabling mental health care providers throughout the state to assist residents virtually anywhere via telephone. Community care centers and local shelters, already overburdened by high patient volumes, can serve far more individuals through the telepsychiatry option (California Endowment Report, 2001).
Another agency supporting the mental health of the immigrant population in the Central Valley is the American Society on Aging. The Society's Sacramento branch received a grant from the California Endowment in 2001 for $388,802 to increase the cultural competency of service providers in the area. This initiative included translators in Spanish, Chinese, Portuguese, Latin, Japanese, German, and other languages, in an effort to serve low-income, high-mental-illness-risk populations in the Central Valley (California Endowment Report, 2001).
Another resource that has been expanded is the California Foundation for Independent Living Center's Wellness Guide project. The project, designed to help individuals lead a mentally healthy lifestyle, was until 2000 available only in English. Recognizing the higher proportion of Spanish- and Chinese-speaking individuals in the Central Valley, the Foundation now offers the project in multiple languages, including Spanish, Chinese, Japanese, Portuguese, and Vietnamese (California Endowment Report, 2001).
Many agencies have also begun offering additional counseling services to non-English communities alongside regular health care topics. The Fresno Metropolitan Ministry established the Immigrant Engagement project, which focuses in part on providing non-English speaking immigrant populations in Fresno with information in their native languages about taking an active role in their own health. The project offers information about area representatives for mental health care who provide services in a variety of languages (California Endowment Report, 2001).
Some organizations in the Central Valley provide mental health services to specific language communities. The Asian Pacific Psychological organization, for example, provides psychological services to disadvantaged refugee and immigrant families who would otherwise have no access to mental health care. While their main offices are in Alameda County, many Asian Pacific residents choose to travel from the Valley to obtain specialized care in their native language. With over 90% of their clientele requiring services in native Asian languages, the organization is one of the few of its kind in the state. Services include adult outpatient care such as counseling for acculturation stress, life situations, psychotherapy, and clinical case management, as well as medication treatment for patients with more serious mental illness (CAADV, 2004).
Another such organization is the Inter-Tribal Council of California, a nonprofit operating statewide to reduce violence in Native American families. The organization provides services to both English- and non-English speaking clients, including youth violence programs, adult counseling for abuse victims, and anger management for adult offenders. Through five satellite offices, the agency is able to reach most areas of California, including the Central Valley (CAADV, 2004).
Fresno County Mental Health Plan. (July 2000). Fresno County Mental Health Plan provider manual. Fresno, CA: Fresno County Human Services System.
National Congress for Hispanic Mental Health. (March 20, 2000). Part III: National Congress proceedings, special programs and initiatives. Proceedings for the National Congress for Hispanic Mental Health: Creating a vision for the 21st century. Washington, DC: Center for Mental Health Services.
Smith, P., & Tarallo, B. (2004). California's changing faces. Current briefs and reports of the California Policy Research Center. Retrieved May 15, 2004, from California Policy Research Center Database.
You’re 55% through this paper. Sign up to read the remaining 2 sections.
Sign Up Now — Instant Access Already a member? Log inAlways verify citation format against your institution’s current style guide requirements.