BILL ANALYSIS                                                                                                                                                                                                    



                                                                  SB 733
                                                                  Page  1

          Date of Hearing:   June 30, 2010

                        ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
                                Felipe Fuentes, Chair

                    SB 733 (Leno) - As Amended:  January 26, 2010 

          Policy Committee:                             Public  
          SafetyVote:7-0

          Urgency:     No                   State Mandated Local Program:  
          No     Reimbursable:               

           SUMMARY  

          This bill requires the California Victims Compensation and  
          Government Claims Board (VCGCB or board) to administer a grant  
          program for trauma recovery centers (TRCs), and authorize the  
          board, upon appropriation by the Legislature, to award grants  
          totaling up to $3 million from the Restitution Fund to TRCs that  
          provide services to crime victims. Specifically this bill:

          1)Authorizes the board to provide funding for up to three years;  
            the board may award consecutive grants to a TRC to "prevent a  
            lapse in funding."  

          2)Defines a TRC as a center with a multidisciplinary staff of  
            clinicians who provide mental health services, community-based  
            outreach and clinical case management, and coordination of  
            care between providers, social service agencies, and law  
            enforcement. 

          3)Requires a TRC to demonstrate, for purposes of grant  
            eligibility, that it serves as a community resource by  
            providing services such as presentations and training to law  
            enforcement, community-based organizations, and other health  
            care providers regarding the identification and effects of  
            violent crime. 

          4)Requires the board to give grant preference to:

             a)   TRCs that conduct outreach to, and serve  crime victims  
               "who are typically unable to access traditional services,"  
               including the homeless, chronically mentally ill, disabled,  
               and immigrant populations.








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             b)   TRCs that serve victims of a wide range of violent  
               crimes.

           FISCAL EFFECT  

          Costs to the Restitution Fund of up to $3 million, contingent  
          upon a subsequent appropriation. 

          The $148 million Restitution Fund, supported by penalty  
          assessments, is currently flirting with insolvency in 2010-11,  
          with a projected reserve of about 4% at best ($6 million), and  
          will be insolvent by the close of 2011-12, with a deficit in the  
          range of $20 million.

          The board notes they receive a 60% federal match on all payments  
          the board makes to crime victims. While this bill requires TCAs  
          to provide any information required by the board to qualify the  
          proposed grant funds for a federal match, the board notes that  
          of the $1.3 million provided to the UCSF TRC in 2006-07, only  
          about $100,000 qualified for a federal match due to  
          specifications regarding victim eligibility and allowable  
          expenses. (The author takes issue with the board's estimate  
          regarding federal fund eligibility and suggests a more thorough  
          effort by the board could greatly increase matching funds for  
          TRCs.)

           COMMENTS  

           1)Rationale.  The author contends the TCA model is a  
            cost-effective means to provide services to crime victims  
            unable to navigate VCGCB processes, which the author suggests  
            are Byzantine and cost-inefficient. The author cites the  
            success of the UCSF TRC in providing services to crime victims  
            who are often unable to access traditional services, including  
            the homeless, the chronically mentally ill, and others with  
            complex psychosocial problems.  

            According to the author, "At any given time, crime statistics  
            suggest that there are many more victims of crime in  
            California eligible for services from the CVCGCB than actually  
            seek it out. Disadvantaged crime victims have an especially  
            difficult time gaining access to the system. A bureaucratic  
            maze of paperwork effectively denies them assistance and  
            represents an inherent bias in the current system of care.  
            Victims are required to produce as many as 10 supporting  








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            documents to establish eligibility before beginning a waiting  
            period - lasting up to three months or more - to find out  
            whether their application for compensation has been accepted.  
            The goal of the state's victim services, and the obligation of  
            the state, is to serve victims, all victims, not just those  
            savvy enough to navigate the system. 


            "SB 733 offers victims an alternative by providing for the  
            establishment of a grant program within the CVCGCB which would  
            provide TRCs with the funding they need to offer expert  
            medical treatment directly to victims of crime. 


            "The grant program will be administered by the CVCGCB and  
            would fund programs that replicate the victim service model  
            developed at the San Francisco TRC (San Francisco General  
            Hospital/UCSF) which utilizes a multidisciplinary staff to  
            provide direct mental health services and treatment to victims  
            while coordinating services with law enforcement and other  
            social service agencies all under one roof. This victim  
            service model has received national recognition for its  
            ability to cost effectively meet the special needs of crime  
            victims immediately following their trauma. 


            "Unlike California's Victim Compensation Program (VCP), the  
            TRC model allows for aggressive outreach to vulnerable  
            populations - those individuals that are most susceptible to  
            becoming victims of crime and also the least likely to benefit  
            from VCP services."


           2)2008 Bureau of State Audits (BSA) Report Criticizes VCGCB  
            processes  . The author references the BSA report in support of  
            his contention that there is room - and need - for a better  
            service model. BSA criticisms levied at the board include:


             a)   From 2001-02 through 2004-05, VCP compensation payments  
               decreased from $124 million to $62 million. 


             b)   Despite the significant decline in payments,  
               administrative costs make up a significant portion of the  








                                                                  SB 733
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               Restitution Fund disbursements-ranging from 26% to 42%  
               annually. 


             c)   The program did not always process applications and  
               bills efficiently.  


             d)   The program's numerous problems with the transition to a  
               new application and bill processing system led to an  
               increase in complaints regarding processing delays.

            The BSA made a series of recommendations, including the  
            following:

             a)   To improve processing time for making decisions on  
               applications and paying bills, the board should identify  
               the problems leading to delays and resolve them. It should  
               develop specific procedures to use when following up with  
               verifying entities, and it should continue efforts to  
               communicate to verifying entities the importance of  
               responding promptly to requests for information.

             b)   To ensure the board carries out its outreach efforts, it  
               should develop a comprehensive plan to prioritize its  
               efforts, and consider demographic and crime statistics  
               information when planning outreach strategies. 

           1)Supporters  , including the L.A. D.A., the CA Emergency Nurses  
            Association, and San Francisco, support the need for outreach  
            and additional funding for victims services. 

           2)Opponents  , including the VCGCB and the CA Coalition Against  
            Sexual Assault, contend it is crucial to deal with the  
            long-term stability of the Restitution Fund before funding  
            additional models. According to the Coalition, "This fund is  
            essential to victims throughout the state and at this time we  
            must join with others in opposing this legislation until the  
            Restitution Fund is restored to a stable balance." 

           3)VCGCB's Victim Compensation Program  provides compensation to  
            injured crime victims. Family members or other persons may  
            also be eligible for compensation. The program is the payer of  
            last resort and covers a range of services, including medical  
            and mental health services, when the costs are not covered by  








                                                                  SB 733
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            other sources, such as insurance. Depending on circumstances,  
            payment can be made either directly to an individual or to a  
            service provider.    

           4)Related Legislation.


              a)   AB 1669 (Leno, 2007), similar to AB 733, was vetoed. The  
               governor stated "In my signing message for AB 50 in 2006, I  
               stated that the use of Restitution Funds for the San  
               Francisco Trauma Recovery Center (TRC) should be considered  
               a one-time appropriation. This appropriation was granted in  
               order to provide time to identify alternate sources of  
               funding for the TRC and other similar programs. The use of  
               the Restitution Fund to replicate and fund programs of this  
               type presents a significant concern to its ongoing ability  
               to support the compensation of crime victims for which it  
               was established. 

                  "While the model of service supported by this bill has  
               proven effective at the TRC, the Restitution Fund is an  
               inappropriate ongoing source of funding for this type of  
               program. The Restitution Fund is the funding source of the  
               Victim Compensation Program, which was designated to pay  
               for certain out-of-pocket expenses to specific victims of  
               crime. In contrast, the trauma centers that would be  
               supported by this bill provide comprehensive services,  
               which exceed out-of-pocket expenses, to individuals that  
               are not restricted to victims of crime."


             b)   AB 50 (Leno), Chapter 884, Statutes of 2006,  
               appropriated $1.3 million for the TRC at the San Francisco  
               General Hospital. 


             Analysis Prepared by  :    Geoff Long / APPR. / (916) 319-2081