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Is Anyone's Life Better Off?
Data, Accountability and Vision 2030
With Karen Larsen
Stories to Solutions
In a candid interview, Karen Larsen shares her remarkable journey from personal struggle with substance use to becoming a leading advocate in California's mental health system. Her story illustrates how lived experience can transform into purpose and drive systemic change.
Larsen's path began at 19 when she "picked up a felony related to substance use" and got sober with her parents' support. This experience propelled her into a career that evolved from drug treatment counselor to therapist, manager, and eventually to Health and Human Services Director for Yolo County during the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, as CEO of the Steinberg Institute, she brings her community-level insights to statewide policy.
What makes Larsen's perspective unique is her longitudinal view of the system. Having worked in Yolo County for over 20 years, she witnessed multiple generations cycle through various services—seeing "little people" whose mothers were in treatment grow up to enter juvenile justice, then adult criminal justice systems, and eventually have their own children. These observations "really solidify why you do this work," she explains.
Despite California doubling its behavioral health budget over the past decade, Larsen notes that access to care hasn't improved. Her work at the Steinberg Institute focuses on their Vision 2030 initiative to reduce hospitalization, incarceration, and homelessness for people with behavioral health conditions through data-driven approaches and implementation.
Throughout the interview, Larsen balances optimism with pragmatism. While acknowledging the "transformational things happening in behavioral health in California," she recognizes implementation challenges and the slow pace of system change. Her call to action encourages more people to engage in advocacy work because "it uses a different part of your heart and brain"—a fitting conclusion from someone whose personal recovery journey transformed into a lifelong mission to improve mental health systems.
Larsen's path began at 19 when she "picked up a felony related to substance use" and got sober with her parents' support. This experience propelled her into a career that evolved from drug treatment counselor to therapist, manager, and eventually to Health and Human Services Director for Yolo County during the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, as CEO of the Steinberg Institute, she brings her community-level insights to statewide policy.
What makes Larsen's perspective unique is her longitudinal view of the system. Having worked in Yolo County for over 20 years, she witnessed multiple generations cycle through various services—seeing "little people" whose mothers were in treatment grow up to enter juvenile justice, then adult criminal justice systems, and eventually have their own children. These observations "really solidify why you do this work," she explains.
Despite California doubling its behavioral health budget over the past decade, Larsen notes that access to care hasn't improved. Her work at the Steinberg Institute focuses on their Vision 2030 initiative to reduce hospitalization, incarceration, and homelessness for people with behavioral health conditions through data-driven approaches and implementation.
Throughout the interview, Larsen balances optimism with pragmatism. While acknowledging the "transformational things happening in behavioral health in California," she recognizes implementation challenges and the slow pace of system change. Her call to action encourages more people to engage in advocacy work because "it uses a different part of your heart and brain"—a fitting conclusion from someone whose personal recovery journey transformed into a lifelong mission to improve mental health systems.
In a candid interview, Karen Larsen shares her remarkable journey from personal struggle with substance use to becoming a leading advocate in California's mental health system. Her story illustrates how lived experience can transform into purpose and drive systemic change.
Larsen's path began at 19 when she "picked up a felony related to substance use" and got sober with her parents' support. This experience propelled her into a career that evolved from drug treatment counselor to therapist, manager, and eventually to Health and Human Services Director for Yolo County during the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, as CEO of the Steinberg Institute, she brings her community-level insights to statewide policy.
What makes Larsen's perspective unique is her longitudinal view of the system. Having worked in Yolo County for over 20 years, she witnessed multiple generations cycle through various services—seeing "little people" whose mothers were in treatment grow up to enter juvenile justice, then adult criminal justice systems, and eventually have their own children. These observations "really solidify why you do this work," she explains.
Despite California doubling its behavioral health budget over the past decade, Larsen notes that access to care hasn't improved. Her work at the Steinberg Institute focuses on their Vision 2030 initiative to reduce hospitalization, incarceration, and homelessness for people with behavioral health conditions through data-driven approaches and implementation.
Throughout the interview, Larsen balances optimism with pragmatism. While acknowledging the "transformational things happening in behavioral health in California," she recognizes implementation challenges and the slow pace of system change. Her call to action encourages more people to engage in advocacy work because "it uses a different part of your heart and brain"—a fitting conclusion from someone whose personal recovery journey transformed into a lifelong mission to improve mental health systems.
Larsen's path began at 19 when she "picked up a felony related to substance use" and got sober with her parents' support. This experience propelled her into a career that evolved from drug treatment counselor to therapist, manager, and eventually to Health and Human Services Director for Yolo County during the COVID-19 pandemic. Now, as CEO of the Steinberg Institute, she brings her community-level insights to statewide policy.
What makes Larsen's perspective unique is her longitudinal view of the system. Having worked in Yolo County for over 20 years, she witnessed multiple generations cycle through various services—seeing "little people" whose mothers were in treatment grow up to enter juvenile justice, then adult criminal justice systems, and eventually have their own children. These observations "really solidify why you do this work," she explains.
Despite California doubling its behavioral health budget over the past decade, Larsen notes that access to care hasn't improved. Her work at the Steinberg Institute focuses on their Vision 2030 initiative to reduce hospitalization, incarceration, and homelessness for people with behavioral health conditions through data-driven approaches and implementation.
Throughout the interview, Larsen balances optimism with pragmatism. While acknowledging the "transformational things happening in behavioral health in California," she recognizes implementation challenges and the slow pace of system change. Her call to action encourages more people to engage in advocacy work because "it uses a different part of your heart and brain"—a fitting conclusion from someone whose personal recovery journey transformed into a lifelong mission to improve mental health systems.
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Links to Solutions
Data is essential for accountability
"It's billions of dollars being invested and we can't say to what end." Larsen emphasizes that California must move beyond collecting data to actually using it to demonstrate improved outcomes for people.
Full Service Partnerships (FSPs) offer proven solutions
These wraparound care teams have "been proven to reduce hospitalization, incarceration and homelessness and to save the state millions of dollars," providing critical support for individuals transitioning from locked facilities back to the community.
Building the peer workforce is crucial
Larsen describes peers with lived experience as "the foundation" of the mental health workforce pyramid—"they are often the first place that clients receive services" and can be trained more quickly than clinical staff while helping address workforce shortages.
Meet Our Guest
Karen Larsen
Karen Larsen is the Chief Executive Officer of the Steinberg Institute, a role she has held with distinction as the first person to occupy this position. With over two decades of experience in public service, particularly in mental health and social services, Karen has been a transformative leader in Yolo County and beyond. Her work is characterized by innovative leadership, a commitment to mental health advocacy, and a personal journey of recovery that fuels her passion for serving vulnerable communities.
Connect to Karen Larsen
Steinberg Institute Website: www.steinberginstitute.org
Steinberg Institute Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/steinberginstitute/
Steinberg Institute LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/steinberg-institute/
Dr. Emily Carter
Licensed Clinical Psychologist & Mental Health Advocate
How To Get Involved?
Dr. Emily Carter
Licensed Clinical Psychologist & Mental Health Advocate
How To Get Involved?
Dr. Emily Carter
Licensed Clinical Psychologist & Mental Health Advocate
How To Get Involved?
Dr. Emily Carter
Licensed Clinical Psychologist & Mental Health Advocate
How To Get Involved?
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