California Funding Priorities

ACEs prevention funding - California

ACEs are preventable, potentially traumatic events that occur in childhood (0-17 years). Examples include neglect, experiencing or witnessing violence, or having a family member attempt or die by suicide.

• 68.4% of adults reported at least one ACE in California in 20201A
• 19% of adults reported experiencing four or more ACEs in California in 20201A

ACE prevention programs

• Essentials for Childhood: Preventing ACEs
  • California Department of Public Health: $485,000

Examples of how California is working to prevent ACEs

Surveillance activities

The San Diego Unified School District is adding questions about experiencing ACEs to the California Youth Risk Behavior Survey to provide representative state-wide estimates of ACEs for California public high school students.

Strengthening economic supports

The California Essentials for Childhood team is working to increase access to and use of California's paid family leave benefits and earned income tax credit (known as CalEITC). The team is particularly interested in ensuring applications for both programs are accessible for all California families. Key partners in this approach include multiple state government agencies and violence prevention organizations, including the California Partnership to End Domestic Violence.

Changing social norms

With key partners in the California Department of Social Services' Office of Child Abuse Prevention, the California Essentials for Childhood team is engaging local- and state-level stakeholders to promote these messages. In the first three years of the project, the California team worked to improve and expand data sources on social norms related to child health and parenting. The California team has developed a toolkit for local health departments to help them "tell their communities' story" from this new data.

Other support for ACEs in California

Beyond the ACEs appropriation, CDC supports several initiatives, research, and partnerships to build state and tribal surveillance infrastructure and enhance ACEs prevention and mitigation.

In California, some of those other initiatives include:

• Core State Injury Prevention Program
• Drug Free Communities
• Preventing Violence Affecting Young Lives

Overdose prevention funding - California

There were 107,968 drug overdose deaths in the United States in 2022 (34.6 deaths per 100,000 standard population), a 1.2% increase from 2021.2

• There were 10,952 overdose deaths in California in 20223
• There were 26.9 overdose deaths per 100,00 people (age-adjusted) in California in 20223

Overdose prevention programs

• Overdose Data to Action in States
  • California Department of Public Health: $5,094,718

• Overdose Data to Action: LOCAL
  • Los Angeles County Department of Public Health: $3,217,500
  • Riverside University Health System - Public Health: $2,892,500
  • Alameda County Health Care Services Agency: $2,549,000
  • San Fracisco Department of Public Health: $2,225,000
  • Santa Clara County Public Health: $2,225,000

• Public Health and Public Safety
  • Overdose Response Strategy: $87,600*
  • End Overdose Evidence-Building Award: $50,000

• Research
  • Public Health Foundation Enterprises: $362,432
  • University of California, Davis: $350,000
  • University of California, Los Angeles: $275,764

*average award amount

Examples of how California is working to prevent overdose

Enhanced data reporting

California provided enhanced surveillance data, including additional data on opioid overdoses, to the Riverside County Inland Empire Opioid Crisis Coalition (IEOCC). This helped IEOCC understand the impact of opioid overdoses, including those involving methamphetamine, in the county and prompted the coalition to expand its goals from a sole focus on opioids to include harm reduction, methamphetamine interventions, and health equity related initiatives.

Harm reduction media campaign

Riverside County's University Health System launched a media campaign tailored for youth, young adults, and their parents. The campaign focused on overdose signs and symptoms, strategies for responding to an opioid overdose, and resources for substance use help such as a pocket card for youth with overdose response strategies and resources.

Suicide prevention funding - California

• There were 4,312 suicide deaths in California in 2022
• There were 10.4 suicide deaths per 100,000 people (age-adjusted) in California in 2022

Suicide prevention programs

• Comprehensive Suicide Prevention
  • California Department of Public Health: $1,033,000

California's suicide prevention priorities

California is preventing suicide with CDC Injury Center funding by:B

• Creating protective environments
• Teaching coping and problem-solving skills
• Identifying and supporting people at risk
• Strengthening access and delivery of suicide care

Some groups have higher rates of suicide than others. To address disparities, California is focusing on:

• 13 counties with high rates of suicide and emergency department visits for self-harm
• Rural communities

Examples of how California is working to prevent suicide

Pharmacist training

California will provide suicide gatekeeper training to pharmacists. This training helps participants identify and respond to people who may be at risk of suicide. This training also includes best practices in safe storage of medications.