As California expands this new system for the developmentally disabled, there will be new avenues of opportunity for Psychiatric Technicians in the continuum of care for the developmentally disabled. The other category of individuals treated by Psychiatric Technicians are those with serious mental illnesses. They are treated in programs run by private facilities, by cities and counties, and by the state. In state programs for the mentally ill, Psychiatric Technicians work in the five state hospitals. The counties now decide where and how to treat their mentally ill, and state hospital placement is only one option.
Counties also use alternative treatment programs in community-based settings.
In the community mental health system, Psychiatric Technicians are already used in county hospitals, in community outreach programs and in psychiatric emergency response teams. They are being used to help fill the pressing need for mental health services for the poor, the homeless and the elderly. Wherever mental health treatment is provided, Psychiatric Technicians are important members of the care-giving team. A major area of expansion for Psychiatric Technicians is the compelling need to provide treatment to thousands of state prison inmates with serious mental illness and developmental disabilities. The Department of Corrections estimates that one out of every 12 inmates suffers from serious mental illness.