AB 3632 mental health entitlement for special education students in California: aspects of the Los Angeles experience.

California Assembly Bill (AB) 3632, passed in 1984, ushered in an era of entitlement to mental health services for schoolchildren with serious emotional disturbances. This article examines the development of the law, the children's public mental health context in Los Angeles County, and the significant impact of the legislation on distribution of mental health services in Los Angeles County and in one Los Angeles area community mental health center. Countywide and agency data are presented that document AB 3632 and regular mental health service provision differences in gender, age, ethnic, income, and language domains and, at the agency level, an increasing proportion of AB 3632 clients. Implications of AB 3632 service provision in relation to provision of mental health services to children in general are reviewed.