‘The Need Is Out There’

As seen in the San Diego Business Journal: The County of San Diego launched the $75 million Elevate Behavioral Workforce Fund, supporting education and workforce development in mental and behavioral health through zero-interest loans, paid internships and more.

Over five years, local think tank Policy & Innovation Center (PIC) will manage the program. “Nothing like this has been done where they’ve concentrated in one region,” PIC Senior Director Stephanie Gioia-Beckman said. “A lot of this is new for the county, and they brought on the PIC [to] outsource someone to manage it and really have the expertise to build something like this.”

The fund has been in development for about three years. A key component was securing a funding stream through Proposition 1, which assesses a 1% millionaire tax to fund behavioral health programs in California counties. Since the county received its $75 million award in late 2024, PIC leaders have been designing the Elevate program.