BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 201
Page 1
ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB 201 (Butler)
As Introduced January 27, 2011
Majority vote
PUBLIC SAFETY 6-0
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|Ayes:|Ammiano, Knight, Cedillo, | | |
| |Hagman, Hill, Yamada | | |
| | | | |
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SUMMARY : Authorizes superior courts to develop and implement
veterans courts. Specifically, this bill :
1)States that the objective of the veterans courts are:
a) Increase cooperation between the courts, criminal
justice, veterans, and substance abuse programs;
b) Create a dedicated calendar or a locally developed
collaborative court-supervised veterans mental health
program or system that will lead to placement of as many
mentally ill offenders who are veterans of the United
States (U.S.) military, including those with post-traumatic
stress disorders, traumatic brain injury, military sexual
trauma, substance abuse, or any mental health problem
stemming from United States military service, in community
treatment, as is feasible and consistent with public
safety;
c) Improve access to necessary services and support;
d) Reduce recidivism; and,
e) Reduce involvement of veterans in the criminal justice
system and time in jail by making mental health service for
veterans available in the least restrictive environment
possible while promoting public safety.
2)States that the veterans court may have the following
characteristics:
a) Leadership by a superior court judicial officer assigned
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by the presiding judge;
b) Enhanced accountability by combining judicial
supervision with rehabilitation service that are rigorously
monitored and focused on recovery;
c) A problem solving focus;
d) A team approach to decision-making:
e) Integration of social and treatment services;
f) Judicial supervision of the treatment process, as
appropriate;
g) Community outreach efforts; and,
h) Direct interaction between defendant and judicial
officer.
3)Suggests guidelines for creating veterans courts, including:
a) One stakeholder should be a veteran who is a criminal
justice client and has experience with mental illness;
b) The method by which the veterans court ensures that the
target population of defendants are identified and referred
to the veterans court;
c) The method for assessing defendants who are veterans for
serious mental illness and co-occurring disorders;
d) Eligibility criteria specifying what factors make the
defendant eligible to participate in the veterans court,
including service in the United States military, the
amenability of the defendant to treatment and the facts of
the case, as well as prior criminal history, United States
military service history, and mental health and substance
abuse treatment history;
e) The elements of the treatment and supervision programs;
f) Standards for continuing participation in, and
successful completion of, the veterans court program;
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g) The need for all service providers and stakeholders to
receive initial and ongoing training from county
departments and community stakeholders with specialized
knowledge about veterans' treatment and service needs, such
as the county health department, county veterans officers,
county drug and alcohol department, and Veterans
Administration partners, and the need to provide initial
and ongoing training for designated staff on the nature of
serious mental illness and on the treatment and supportive
services available in the community;
h) The process to ensure defendants will receive the
appropriate level of treatment series with emphasis on
maximizing federally funded services from the Veterans
Administration and the Department of Veterans Affairs, as
well as the county and other local mental health and
substance abuse treatment services to the extent that
resources are available for that purpose, as specified;
i) The process for developing or modifying a treatment plan
for each defendant, based on a formal assessment of the
defendant's mental health, United States military service
history, and substance abuse treatment needs.
Participation in the veterans court shall require
defendants to complete the recommended treatment plan, and
comply with any other terms and conditions that optimizes
the likelihood that the defendant completes the program;
j) The process for referring cases to the veterans court;
and,
aa) The defendant's voluntary entry into the veterans court,
and the process for explaining these rights to the
defendant.
4)Suggests that each veterans court team, led by a judicial
officer include a judicial officer to preside over the court,
a prosecutor, a public defender, a county mental health
liaison, a substance abuse liaison, a county veterans' service
officer, a probation officer, and a Veterans Administration
social worker to assist the court with screening veterans
court candidates for eligibility and suitability in Veterans
Administration funded programs. This team shall determine the
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frequency of ongoing reviews of the progress of the offender
in community treatment in order to ensure the offender adheres
to the treatment plan as recommended, remains in treatment,
and completes treatment.
5)States legislative intent that a veterans court judge use a
variety of options for carrying out the goal to ensure
long-term public safety by maximizing the opportunities for
veterans with psychological war wounds to get timely and
appropriate treatment. States legislative intent in enacting
this section to augment rather than replace other sections
within this code. The judicial officer has a variety of tools
available to reach these goals and shall exercise discretion
and use all tools available to ensure public safety and assist
defendants to successfully complete appropriate treatment for
the problems underlying their offenses. Where there are
statutory requirements for certain education or counseling
programs to be included in the terms of probation, the
components of these offense-specific counseling terms shall be
incorporated into the treatment programs that are designed to
treat the underlying psychological disorders rather than
required in lieu of the psychological treatments. This
holistic approach ensures that the priority underlying offense
is treated and that offense-specific education and counseling
aims are met.
FISCAL EFFECT : Unknown. This bill is keyed non-fiscal by the
Legislative Counsel.
COMMENTS : According to the author, "AB 201 will promote the
development of Veterans' Courts throughout the state by strongly
encouraging the Judicial Council to develop practices and
identify resources for the purposes of facilitating veterans'
courts in counties. In addition, this bill strongly encourages
the Judicial Council to develop a compendium of resources to
assist all collaborative courts to understand the unique
circumstances that affect veterans."
Please see the policy committee for a full discussion of this
bill.
Analysis Prepared by : Milena Nelson / PUB. S. / (916)
319-3744
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