BILL NUMBER: SB 733	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN SENATE  APRIL 23, 2009

INTRODUCED BY   Senator Leno

                        FEBRUARY 27, 2009

   An act to add Section 13963.1 to the Government Code, relating to
grants for trauma centers, and making an appropriation therefor.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   SB 733, as amended, Leno. Crime victims: trauma center grants.
   The California Victim Compensation and Government Claims Board
administers a program to assist state residents to obtain
compensation for their pecuniary losses suffered as a direct result
of criminal acts. Payment is made under these provisions from the
Restitution Fund, which is continuously appropriated to the board for
these purposes.
   This bill would authorize the board to administer a program to
award up to  an unspecified amount   $5.1
million  in grants, annually, to trauma centers, as defined,
with the amount of each grant being no more than  an
unspecified amount   $1.7 million  . By expanding
the scope of services for which continuously appropriated funds are
available, this bill would make an appropriation.
   Vote: 2/3. Appropriation: yes. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.


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

  SECTION 1.  Section 13963.1 is added to the Government Code, to
read: 
   13963.1.  (a) The board shall administer a program to evaluate
applications and award grants to trauma centers. 
    13963.1.   (a) The Legislature finds and declares
all of the following:  
   (1) Without treatment, approximately 50 percent of people who
survive a traumatic, violent injury experience lasting or extended
psychological or social difficulties. Untreated psychological trauma
often has severe economic consequences, including overuse of costly
medical services, loss of income, failure to return to gainful
employment, loss of medical insurance, and loss of stable housing.
 
   (2) Victims of crime should receive timely and effective mental
health treatment. The Trauma Recovery Center at San Francisco General
Hospital/University of California, San Francisco, in partnership
with the state victim compensation program, has developed a
comprehensive model of care that is cost effective and serves crime
victims in a timely manner. This model has been designed as an
alternative to the current model under which victims must find and
obtain services for which they are eligible for reimbursement from
the Victim Restitution Fund administered by the California Victim
Compensation and Government Claims Board. The Trauma Recovery Center
has increased access for crime victims to these funds and it has done
so in a cost-effective manner.  
   (3)  Given the success of this model program, the board shall
replicate this model of care and administer a program to evaluate
applications and award grants to trauma recovery centers. 
   (b) The board shall only award a grant to a trauma center that
meets both of the following criteria:
   (1) The trauma center demonstrates that it serves as a community
resource by providing services, including, but not limited to, making
presentations and providing training to law enforcement,
community-based agencies, and other health care providers on the
identification and effects of violent crime.
   (2) Any other related criteria required by the board.
   (c) The board may award grants totaling up to  ____
  five million one hundred thousand  dollars
 ($____)   ($5,100,000)  per year, with
each grant no more than  ____   one million
seven hundred thousand  dollars  ($____)  
($1,700,000)  . All grants shall be funded only from the
Restitution Fund.
   (d) The board may award a grant providing funding for up to a
maximum period of  two   three  years. Any
portion of a grant that a trauma center does not use within the
specified grant period shall revert to the Restitution Fund. The
board may award consecutive grants to a trauma center to prevent a
lapse in funding. The board shall not award a trauma center more than
one grant for any period of time. 
   (e) A prudent reserve of ____ million dollars ($____) shall remain
in the Restitution Fund at all times. If at any point the
Restitution Fund drops below this amount, renewal funding for the
trauma centers may be suspended.  
   (e) 
    (f)  The board, when considering grant applications,
shall give preference to a trauma center that conducts outreach to,
and serves, both of the following:
   (1) Crime victims who typically are unable to access traditional
services, including, but not limited to, victims who are homeless,
chronically mentally ill, of diverse ethnicity, members of immigrant
and refugee groups, disabled, or who have severe trauma-related
symptoms or complex psychological issues.
   (2) Victims of a wide range of crimes, including, but not limited
to, victims of sexual assault, domestic violence, physical assault,
shooting, stabbing, and vehicular assault, and family members of
homicide victims. 
   (g) The trauma center sites will be selected by the board through
a well-defined selection process that takes into account the rate of
crime and geographic distribution to serve the greatest number of
victims.  
   (f) 
    (h)  A trauma center that is awarded a grant shall do
both of the following:
   (1) Report to the board  at the end of the grant period
  annually  on how grant funds were spent, how many
clients were served (counting an individual client who receives
multiple services only once), units of service, staff productivity,
treatment outcomes, and patient flow throughout both the clinical and
evaluation components of service. 
   (2) Assist the board with any forms or data collection that will
enable the board to qualify for federal reimbursement of the costs of
providing services to crime victims at the trauma center. 

   (2) In compliance with federal statutes and rules governing
federal matching funds for victims' services, each center shall
submit any forms and data requested by the board to allow the board
to receive the 60 percent federal matching funds for eligible victim
services and allowable expenses.  
   (g) 
    (i)  For purposes of this section, a "trauma center"
provides, including, but not limited to, all of the following
resources, treatment, and recovery services to crime victims:
   (1) Mental health services.
   (2) Assertive community-based outreach  and clinical case
management  .
   (3) Coordination of care among medical and mental health care
providers, law enforcement agencies, and other social services.
   (4) Services to family members and loved ones of homicide victims.

   (5) A multidisciplinary staff of clinicians that includes
psychiatrists, psychologists, and social workers.