BILL ANALYSIS
AB 2483
Page 1
Date of Hearing: April 20, 2004
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HEALTH
Rebecca Cohn, Chair
AB 2483 (Chan) - As Amended: April 1, 2004
SUBJECT : Adolescent alcohol and substance abuse care.
SUMMARY : Establishes a three-year pilot program in four
counties to provide services to adolescents with alcohol and
other drug-related problems. Specifically, this bill :
1)Makes legislative findings and declarations on the importance
of addressing alcohol and drug use and abuse among
adolescents.
2)Establishes a three-year pilot program in the counties of
Alameda, San Francisco, Orange and Mendocino to develop an
annual county plan to ensure evidence-based methodology in
providing services to adolescents with alcohol and other drug
problems.
3)Requires the State Department of Alcohol and Drug Programs
(DADP) to provide a one-time grant of $100,000, by February 1,
2005, to each of the counties to pay for administrative costs
associated with implementing the pilot project and developing
a county plan. Requires the participating counties to provide
matching funds.
4)Requires DADP to seek assistance, including financial and
other in-kind assistance, from other government, educational,
and private sources to pay for the pilot program.
5)Requires the participating counties to establish a coalition,
as specified, to determine how to effectively provide care and
services to adolescents with alcohol and other drug-related
problems.
6)Specifies the role of the county alcohol and drug program
administrator with respect to the coalition.
7)States the duties of the coalition, including developing an
annual plan for each of the three pilot years. Specifies what
the annual plan should seek to accomplish. Requires the
counties to complete their initial annual plan within six
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months of receiving funding from DADP.
8)Requires DADP to evaluate the pilot project and submit the
evaluation to the appropriate policy and fiscal committees of
the Legislature by June 1, 2007. Requires the evaluation to
examine the effectiveness of the pilot project in solving the
lack of appropriate treatment for adolescents with substance
abuse problems and include recommendations for the Legislature
regarding the continuation and improvement of the project.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Establishes DADP to develop and implement a statewide plan to
alleviate problems related to inappropriate alcohol use, and
licenses alcoholism or drug abuse recovery or treatment
facilities that provide a range of services in a supportive
environment for adults who are addicted to alcohol or drugs.
2)Authorizes DADP to establish reasonable criteria to evaluate
the performance of various county alcohol programs.
3)Establishes the California Department of Social Services (DSS)
to license a range of community-based residential facilities,
including group homes for children participating in alcohol
and drug treatment programs.
4)Establishes the Adolescent Alcohol and Drug Treatment and
Recovery Program Act of 1998 to establish community-based
recovery programs to intervene and treat the problems of
alcohol and drugs among youth.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown
COMMENTS :
1)PURPOSE OF THE BILL . The author points out that adolescent
substance abuse is widespread and affects every California
community. However, there are only a few treatment programs
that admit adolescents and even fewer that are designed to
meet the unique needs of adolescents. To highlight the
problem, the author cites the 2002 California Student Survey,
which revealed that 26% of 11th graders reported binge
drinking or consuming five drinks in a row on at least one
occasion in the previous 30 days. The same survey revealed
that 23% of 11th graders reported marijuana use in the
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previous 30 days and 15% report use of marijuana in the past
three days. According to the United States Office of Juvenile
Justice and Delinquency Prevention, there was an increase of
almost 150% for drug violations among adolescents nationally
in the past several years. The author points out that
according to the Legislative Analyst's Office, only 1 in 10
adolescents received publicly funded substance abuse
treatment. This may be because most substance abuse treatment
programs in California are designed for adults and do not meet
the unique needs of adolescents. This bill would bring
together the multiple agencies serving youth in order to
identify and effectively treat adolescents with substance
abuse problems, which would enable them to live productively
and contribute to their communities.
2)FUNDING . According to the author, the Charles and Helen
Schwab Foundation, a private charitable organization, will
provide $100,000 each to the counties of Alameda and San
Francisco in support of their participation in this
initiative.
3)PROPOSITION 36 . In 2000, California voters approved
Proposition 36 or the Substance Abuse and Crime Prevention Act
of 2000 (SACPA), which requires probation and drug treatment,
instead of incarceration, for individuals convicted with
possession, use, transportation for personal use or being
under the influence of controlled substances and similar
parole violations, but not for the sale or manufacture.
Eligible offenders would receive up to one year of drug
treatment and six months of after care. In 2001, SACPA
appropriated $120 million to be distributed to counties to
provide drug treatment and other services. Funding is subject
to terminate after FY 2005-2006.
4)SCHWAB FOUNDATION REPORT . The Charles and Helen Schwab
Foundation published a report in April 2004 entitled "The Need
to Invest in Adolescent California" which contained policy
recommendations for adolescent substance abuse treatment in
California. This bill is one of the policy recommendations
contained in the report. The other seven policy
recommendations of the report are: (1) establishment of a
Governor's Council on Adolescent Substance Abuse made up of
heads of state departments that work with youth; (2) public
awareness campaign on adolescent substance abuse; (3) adoption
and mandated adherence to a set of treatment guidelines
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developed by DADP; (4) establishment of specific protocols for
the screening and assessment of adolescents with potential
drug and alcohol problems; (5) reassessment of priorities and
create new and sustainable funding source for adolescent
substance abuse treatment; (6) mandate private insurance plans
to offer substance abuse and mental health coverage equal to
the coverage provided for medical disorders and diseases; and,
(7) adding adolescent data to the California Outcome Measuring
System database.
5)SUPPORT . The Junior Leagues of California State Public
Affairs Committee indicates the needs of adolescents who have
substance abuse related problems are unique from those of
adults with substance abuse related problems. It further
highlights the importance of interagency involvement in
developing a comprehensive plan for substance abuse related
services available to adolescents
6)PREVIOUS LEGISLATION . AB 216 (Chan), 2003, would have
established youth alcohol recovery and treatment programs in
every county. This bill failed passage in the Assembly
Committee on Health.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION :
Support
Junior Leagues of California State Public Affairs Committee
Opposition
None on file
Analysis Prepared by : Rosielyn Pulmano / HEALTH / (916)
319-2097