BILL NUMBER: SB 733 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE JANUARY 11, 2010
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 $5.1 $3 million in grants,
annually, to trauma centers, as defined , with the amount of
each grant being no more than $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 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
(3) The board shall 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) three million dollars ($3,000,000)
. All grants shall be funded only from the Restitution Fund.
(d) The board may award a grant providing funding for up to a
maximum period of three years. Any portion of a grant that a trauma
center does not use within the specified grant period shall revert to
the Restitution Fund. The board may award consecutive grants to a
trauma center to prevent a lapse in funding. The board shall not
award a trauma center more than one grant for any period of time.
(e) A prudent reserve of ____ million dollars ($____) 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.
(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 shall
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.
(h) A trauma center that is awarded a grant shall do both of the
following:
(1) Report to the board 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) 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.
(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.