LGBTQ-TA-Center.org

Welcome to the California Reducing Disparities Project LGBTQ Technical Assistance (TA) Center

In response to former U.S. Surgeon General David Satcher’s call for national action to reduce mental health disparities, the former Department of Mental Health (DMH), with support from the Mental Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission (MHSOAC), the California Mental Health Directors Association (CMHDA) and the California Mental Health Planning Council (CMHPC), created a statewide policy initiative to identify solutions for historically unserved, underserved, and inappropriately served communities. In 2009, the former DMH launched a statewide Prevention and Early Intervention effort, the California Reducing Disparities Project (CRDP), which focuses on five populations.

> More About Us

Apply Here for Training and Technical Assistance

Meet the LGBTQ TA Center Team

TTA Delivery Methods:

Direct Technical Assistance
Onsite Training
Peer-to-Peer Learning
Live and Recorded Webinars
Online Courses

Find out more about TA & Training

Equity News

Apply Now for the Supporting LGBTQ Youth Certificate Program

The inaugural Supporting the Well-Being of System-Involved LGBTQ Youth Certificate Program will run from October 17-20, 2017 at Georgetown University in partnership with the National Center for Lesbian Rights and Impact Justice. The curriculum will focus on the challenges faced by LGBTQ youth in child-serving systems (including juvenile justice, child welfare, education and behavioral health) as well as strengths and protective factors common to the population, and will highlight effective policy and practice reforms that promote positive youth development and take a holistic approach to addressing their needs. Applications are due by July 7, 2017.

Tran Veterans Reap Positive Benefits from Military Service

With an estimated 134,000 transgender veterans in the US, this article highlights testimonials and statistics from two research studies, Transgender Military Service in the United States,” and “Prior Military Service, Identity Stigma, and Mental Health Among Transgender Older Adults”. Reports indicate transgender people serve in the military at higher rates than cisgender people (15% vs 9%), and while they experience depression at higher rates that cisgender veterans, military service appears to have positive, long-term effects on mental health and quality of life.

Legislation to Protect All Americans from Fraudulent Conversion Therapy Introduced in Congress

This article discusses conversion therapy, sometimes referred to as “sexual orientation change efforts” or “reparative therapy.” These practices are based on the false premise that being LGBTQ is a mental illness that needs to be cured, a theory which has been rejected by every major medical and mental health organization for decades. There is no credible evidence that conversion therapy can change a person’s sexual orientation or gender identity, and a great deal of evidence such attempts are psychologically harmful, including increases in suicide among youth. California outlawed gay conversion therapy in 2012, calling it ineffective and harmful.

Read More Equity News