Welcome to the CASRA Newsletter

In this issue:

- California Behavioral Health Planning Council and CASRA reports on Wellness and Recovery Centers

- Mental Health hospitals threat to cut staff as a result of changing staffing rules

- The plan to overhaul the DSM and change the definition of disorder

- Escaping the disabiing power of disability benefits

Enjoy!

If you have news you would like to share or a colleague you would like to spotlight because of the great work they do or just because they are a great person or both, let us know by contacting joe@casra.org.

A benefit of membership in CASRA is receiving four hours of training for your staff. For more information, please contact joe@casra.org

If you are a CASRA member agency and would like to advertise your learning opportunity, training or event for the benefit of other CASRA member agencies, please contact us at events@casra.org.
There are a few guidelines:
-You are a CASRA Member Agency
-Your event is free of charge
and, as a reminder the Newsletter is published on the 1st and 3rd Thursdays of the month

A Photo Gallery now resides on the EVENTS page of the CASRA website and currently consists of albums of the 2024 Spring and the 2025 Fall CASRA Gatherings. We plan on adding more albums in the future.

If you have photos of your agency's events you would like to share with other CASRA members, contact joe@casra.org.

To view the current albums in the Photo Gallery, CLICK HERE.

The  CASRA Learning Library and its contents are free to CASRA member organizations and their staff. The Library is located in the Member Portal on the CASRA website here. More detailed instructions on how to access and use the Library can also be found on the CASRA website when logged on the Portal.

Our hope is that the Library's offerings will provide learning opportunities that will serve as part of CASRA agencies' onboarding processes for new staff, as well as be a resource of Recovery oriented values and practices for all staff. 

Access to the Learning Library is currently limited to CASRA member agencies and their staff. We hope to expand availability in the future.

For questions and more information contact Joe Ruiz - joe@casra.org.

Our member agencies are continually looking for new employees or volunteers to join their workforce.

To see current openings and find out additional information about CASRA Member Agencies, please click below.

CASRA facilitates a number of support groups for people working at CASRA member agencies. The support groups provide people working in similar roles opportunities to share experiences, information, and challenges. They meet monthly for approximantely one hour. for more information contact the person listed for each group.

Social Rehabilitation Facilities (SRF)
Meets: First Tuesday of the month at 1 PM

Human Resources
Meets: First Thursday of the month at 11 AM

Employment/Vocational Rehabilitation Services
Meets: First Thursday of the month at 3 PM

For information regarding any of the above groups contact:
Chad Costello, chad@casra.org

Wellness Services (Well Talk)
The Wellness Services support group is now online. For more info contact Joe Ruiz, joe@casra.org

CASRA is a statewide organization of private, not-for-profit, public benefit corporations that serve clients of the California public mental health system.

Member agencies provide a variety of services that are designed to enhance the quality of life and community participation of youth, adults and older adults living with challenging mental health issues. Read more

The California Association of Social Rehabilitation Agencies

Mailing Address:
3350 E. 7th Street, #509
Long Beach, CA 90804

Email: casra@casra.org

Phone: (562) 343-2621

To reach us: use our Contact Form

California Behavioral Health Planning Council Releases 2025 Data Notebook Report on Wellness and Recovery Centers

From cbhpc.dhcs.ca.gov
By Naomi Gentile Ramirez, January 29, 2026

The California Behavioral Health Planning Council (CBHPC) is pleased to share the 2025 Data Notebook Overview Report on Wellness and Recovery Centers in California’s Public Behavioral Health System.

Each year, the CBHPC Performance Outcomes Committee conducts a Data Notebook survey in partnership with county behavioral health advisory boards to assess key aspects of the system. For 2025, the survey focused on Wellness and Recovery Centers, gathering responses from 51 counties and analyzing data on 165 centers statewide. This collaborative effort, enhanced by our partnership with the California Association of Social Rehabilitation Agencies (CASRA), provides a comprehensive view of how these centers support individuals living with mental health and substance use challenges.

The findings confirm that Wellness Centers are vital community resources. They operate on a recovery-based model, offer drop-in access, and provide essential connections to treatment, housing, and social services. Staff and volunteers with lived experience play a critical role in fostering community and recovery. Wellness Centers also serve as a resource to assist with Medi-Cal eligibility applications, enabling individuals to initiate or continue accessing essential services, especially when Medicaid recertification becomes necessary in the coming months. We strongly recommend continued investment and support to sustain and expand these centers. Doing so ensures that Californians can access essential services.

Read the Reports
CBHPC 2025 Data Notebook Report on Wellness and Recovery Centers

CASRA Wellness and Recovery Centers Report

California Mental Health Hospitals Warn of Cuts After State Hands Down Staffing Rules

From calmatters.org
By Kristen Hwang, January 28, 2026

The California Department of Public Health delayed emergency staffing rules for acute psychiatric hospitals after significant outcry from hospitals, nurses, law enforcement and lawmakers.

The proposed rules, which would increase the required number of health workers on staff, were set to take effect Jan. 31, roughly one month after the department first published them.

Instead, the department said in a letter to health care facilities that the rules will go into effect June 1.

The emergency rules stem from a San Francisco Chronicle investigation that linked cases of physical assault, sexual assault and death to low staffing levels at for-profit acute psychiatric hospitals. The investigation revealed a loophole in state regulations that allowed acute psychiatric hospitals to employ fewer staff than general hospitals. Read More

Psychiatrists Plan to Overhaul the Mental Health Bible—and Change How We Define ‘Disorder’

The American Psychiatric Association Has Announced Big Upcoming Changes to Psychiatry’s Big Book of Mental Disorders, the DSM

From scientifcamerican.com
By Allison Parshall, Edited bt Tanya Lewis, January 28, 2026

A massive reference book of mental health conditions known as the “bible” of psychiatry is going to change.

The fifth and current version of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) lists nearly 300 distinct conditions that mental health care providers can diagnose and treat. But this dictionary of disorders has long been a lightning rod for criticism—in particular, about the way it classifies mental illnesses, which experts have said is not scientifically valid.

Today the DSM’s publisher, the American Psychiatric Association (APA), announced plans to address these problems by changing how the book works. The Future DSM Strategic Committee is proposing that the DSM change its guidance for diagnosis and increase its focus on ostensibly more objective measures of disease—“biomarkers” that may indicate mental illness. The changes would completely reshape future iterations of the manual. Read More

My Escape From the Disabling Power of Disability Benefits

From madinamerica.com
By, Matthew McWade, January 22, 2026

The American capitalist system is structured in such a way that most people are unable to provide for the practical needs of their own lives, and must acquire currency to purchase from others the goods and services they’re unable to produce themselves. Everyone finds one societal function to perform in order to earn money to purchase what they need or want from other people doing other specific jobs. These jobs and careers come in many forms: some people teach; others are lawyers or judges; some build houses or fix cars; others manage cash registers or stock shelves; some become therapists or social workers; and then there is a still more cautious profession: being a professional mental patient.

For the low, low cost of continuing to be unable, you too can be a professional mental patient! The government is more than willing to give you free housing (mental hospitals, group homes, subsidized apartments, Section 8), free food (food pantries, soup kitchens, food stamps), day activities (clubhouses, day programs), and most importantly, straight cash (SSI/SSDI). And all you have to do is continue to manifest the “permanent” disability they have so generously diagnosed you with. Read More

If you or someone you know is considering suicide or self-harm, there are resources available to provide free and confidential support. Call 988 or the Teen Line at 1-800-TLC-TEEN or The Trevor Project at 1-866-488-7386 for LGBTQ young people.

Project Return Peer Support Network (PRPSN) Earns WRAP Center of Distinction Certification

CASRA member agency Project Return Peer Support Network (PRPSN) is now a licensed Wellness Recovery Action Plan (WRAP) Provider and affiliate of Advocates for Human Potential and has been officially recognized as a WRAP Center of Distinction.

This prestigious designation highlights PRPSN’s commitment to excellence in delivering (WRAP) Seminars and supporting recovery-oriented practices. PRPSN's Training Institute is now a leading provider of WRAP Seminars across the West Coast, helping individuals and organizations build wellness tools that foster hope, personal responsibility, and empowerment.

For more information or to schedule a WRAP Seminar, please contact PRPSN's Training Coordinator, Gustavo Limas at glimas@prpsn.org.

Learn More

A democracy cannot thrive where power remains unchecked and justice is reserved for a select few. Ignoring these cries and failing to respond to this movement is simply not an option – for peace cannot exist where justice is not served." 

John Lewis