BILL NUMBER: SB 1616	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Senator Florez

                        FEBRUARY 22, 2008

   An act to amend Section 4369 of the Welfare and Institutions Code,
relating to gambling.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SB 1616, as introduced, Florez. Problem gambling: therapist
training and treatment programs.
   Existing law establishes the Office of Problem and Pathological
Gambling in the State Department of Alcohol and Drug Programs. The
office is responsible for developing a problem gambling prevention
program and a program to support treatment services for California
residents with problem and pathological gambling issues. Existing law
requires that implementation of these programs be based upon
allocation priorities established by the State Department of Alcohol
and Drug Programs, subject to appropriation of funding for these
purposes. The problem gambling prevention program is given first
priority for funding appropriated to the office.
   This bill would authorize the office to establish a program
through grant or contract to increase the number of qualified problem
and pathological gambling treatment therapists and to establish a
stepped-care plan of treatment to provide comprehensive care to
problem and pathological gamblers and their families. The bill would
require the office to award funds to design therapist training and
statewide treatment programs for problem and pathological gambling,
together with a statewide training and treatment oversight system, as
specified. The bill would require the office, beginning July 1,
2009, and annually each July 1 thereafter, subject to appropriation
by the Legislature, to award grants in connection with the therapist
training and treatment programs, and the oversight system. The bill
would require the Bureau of State Audits, beginning July 1, 2012, and
every 3 years thereafter, to report to the Governor and the
Legislature on the effectiveness and use of funding of the therapist
training and treatment programs.
   Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:

  SECTION 1.  The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
   (a) According to the California Research Bureau, in 2005,
California's gambling industry surpassed Nevada's to become the most
prolific gambling state in the nation. In 2005, California's gambling
industry had $12.16 billion in revenues compared to $11.65 billion
in Nevada.
   (b) According to an August 2007 prevalence study commissioned by
the Office of Problem and Pathological Gambling within the California
Department of Alcohol and Drug Programs, nearly 1 million
Californians, one in every 28 adults, have developed "significant,
lifetime problems related to gambling." The estimated societal cost
of problem and pathological gambling in California is approximately
$1 billion a year.
   (c) Beginning in the 2003-04 fiscal year, the State of California
has annually appropriated approximately $3 million from the Indian
Gaming Special Distribution Fund to pay for the Office of Problem and
Pathological Gambling. The Office of Problem and Pathological
Gambling's programs are primarily focused on prevention efforts, such
as statewide ads, public service announcements, and education
campaigns regarding problem gambling. The Office of Problem and
Pathological Gambling is not responsible for, and has not been given
the express authority to use state funds for the purposes of,
treatment.
   (d) Beginning in the 2007, California's card clubs collectively
began contributing approximately $150,000 a year for programs
intended to benefit persons who have a gambling addiction problem.
The funds are to be passed through the Office of Problem Gambling to
community-based organizations that directly provide aid and
assistance to persons with gambling addiction problems. The first
appropriation of these funds has been included in the proposed
2008-09 budget.
   (e) Current research suggests that treatment for pathological
gambling is effective, despite the absence of a federal Food and Drug
Administration approved medication or standard practice guidelines.
Data from the state of Minnesota shows that pathological gamblers can
achieve a 40-60 percent abstinence rate one year after the
completion of treatment. It is estimated that for every one dollar
spent on treating and preventing pathological gambling, another seven
dollars are saved from the General Fund.
   (f) States such as Oregon, Minnesota, Iowa, Nebraska, and
Connecticut have excellent examples of state-funded treatment for
pathological gambling. Oregon employs a stepped-care approach,
meaning that care for pathological gamblers is available from the
least drastic intervention to 24-hour care.
   (g) Oregon budgets $4.65 million per year for the treatment of
problem and pathological gambling. According to a factsheet published
in 2007 by the Oregon Department of Human Services, gambling
revenues in Oregon were approximately $1.27 billion in 2004.
   (h) According to the California Counsel on Problem Gambling, there
are fewer than 30 therapists in California that are trained and
certified to provide treatment services to problem and pathological
gamblers.
   (i) It is the intent of the Legislature, through the enactment of
this act, to establish a grant program to develop the infrastructure
in California to provide treatment services to problem and
pathological gamblers and their families. This act will establish a
grant program to be administered by the Office of Problem and
Pathological Gambling that will increase the number of qualified
treatment therapists and establish a stepped-care plan of treatment
to mitigate the human toll and fiscal impact of problem and
pathological gambling in California.
  SEC. 2.  Section 4369 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is
amended to read:
   4369.   (a)    There is within the State
Department of Alcohol and Drug Programs, the Office of Problem and
Pathological Gambling. 
   (b) The office may establish a program through grant or contract
to increase the number of qualified problem and pathological gambling
treatment therapists and to establish a stepped-care plan of
treatment to provide comprehensive care to problem and pathological
gamblers and their families. Indirect administrative costs of a
contractor or grantee shall not exceed 15 percent of the funds
awarded. Funds shall be awarded by the office in the manner specified
in subdivision (c) for the following purposes:  
   (1) To design a problem and pathological gambling therapist
training program.  
   (2) To design a statewide problem and pathological gambling
treatment program.  
   (3) To design a statewide training and treatment oversight system.
 
   (c) (1) The therapist training program designed pursuant to
paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) shall establish the scope of
training and other requirements to ensure that trainees demonstrate a
minimum level of competency. The office shall award the grant to
design the training program on or before April 1, 2009.  
   (2) The treatment program designed pursuant to paragraph (2) of
subdivision (b) shall utilize an integrated and comprehensive
approach to provide various levels of care for problem and
pathological gamblers throughout the state. "Various levels of care"
shall include, but not be limited to, brief interventions, outpatient
treatment, and residential treatment. This will ensure that every
resident of California will be eligible for treatment services. The
office shall be responsible for distributing treatment funds via
grants to qualified treatment providers. Treatment efforts shall
provide services that are relevant to the needs of a diverse
multicultural population with attention to groups with unique needs,
including female gamblers, underserved ethnic groups, the elderly,
youth, young adults, and persons with physical disabilities. The
design and implementation process of this treatment program shall be
completed by July 1, 2009.  
   (3) The office shall assemble a nonlegislative, academic team with
experience in problem gambling treatment and research to establish
an oversight system that will use performance measures to evaluate
the effectiveness of the therapist training and treatment programs.
This oversight system shall provide ongoing recommendations and
corrective action plans that can be integrated into the therapist
training and treatment programs to enhance effectiveness and delivery
of care. The administrators of this oversight system shall report
the results to the office and the Legislature annually. The design of
the statewide training and treatment oversight system shall be
completed by July 1, 2009.  
   (d) Beginning July 1, 2009, and annually each July 1 thereafter,
subject to appropriation by the Legislature, the office shall award
grants to do all of the following:  
   (1) Offer new problem gambling therapist training and continuing
education for current problem gambling therapists in accordance with
the training program.  
   (2) Provide care to problem and pathological gamblers in
accordance with the treatment program.  
   (3) Monitor, evaluate, and develop recommendations and corrective
action plans in accordance with the training and treatment oversight
system.  
   (e) The Bureau of State Audits shall report to the Governor and
the Legislature on or before July 1, 2012, and every three years
thereafter, on the effectiveness and use of funding of the problem
and pathological gambling therapist training and treatment programs.
 
   (f) No more than 1 percent of the annual revenue sharing
contributions deposited in the General Fund from tribal-state gaming
compacts concluded after 2002 shall be made available to the office
in any fiscal year to fund the problem and pathological gambling
therapist training and treatment programs and the report of the
Bureau of State Audits.