BILL ANALYSIS Ó
Senate Appropriations Committee Fiscal Summary
Senator Christine Kehoe, Chair
AB 826 (Atkins)
Hearing Date: 8/25/2011 Amended: 6/21/2011
Consultant: Katie Johnson Policy Vote: Public Safety 6-1
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BILL SUMMARY: AB 826 would permit the California Department of
Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) to create an Integrated
Services for Mentally Ill Parolees (ISMIP) program, as
specified, which would provide varied levels of care, supportive
and transitional housing, and an array of mental health
rehabilitative services that would assist with the development
of independent living.
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Fiscal Impact (in thousands)
Major Provisions 2011-12 2012-13 2013-14 Fund
Cost pressure to likely in the millions General
establish a supportive of dollars annually
housing program
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STAFF COMMENTS: SUSPENSE FILE. AS PROPOSED TO BE AMENDED.
Existing law, as a condition of disbursing prison construction
funds, AB 900 (Solorio), Chapter 7, Statutes of 2007, requires
the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation
(CDCR) to serve at least 300 parolees in day treatment or crisis
care centers. In order to comply with AB 900, CDCR
administratively established the Integrated Services for
Mentally Ill Parolees (ISMIP) program to serve approximately 300
mentally ill parolees. This bill would authorize CDCR to
establish an ISMIP program, as specified.
The existing program serves between 290 and 340 parolees at any
point in time at a cost of approximately $30,000 per parolee.
ISMIP participants are referred to the program by prison
outpatient clinic (OPC) staff, the clinic system that provides
mental health services for parolees, and prior to parole based
on an offender pre-release assessment. CDCR contracts with local
ISMIP service providers who provide case management to
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participants and focus on connecting them to housing, food, and
clothing, as well as to vocational education, job placements,
and medical care.
This bill would codify ISMIP and would set forth eligibility
criteria. To the extent that CDCR chose to implement ISMIP, an
inmate would be eligible and would qualify for ISMIP if all of
the following conditions are met:
1) He or she participates in the Enhanced Outpatient
Program, the Correctional Clinical Case Management System,
or receives a higher level of mental health care while in
prison;
2) He or she voluntarily chooses to participate in the
ISMIP program;
3) He or she is assigned a date of release within 60 to 180
days.
This bill would require CDCR to prioritize ISMIP eligibles that
are likely to become homeless upon release, as defined.
This bill would require ISMIP service providers to provide all
of the following services:
1) Case management;
2) Coordination of mental health, medical, and substance
abuse treatment services;
3) Parole discharge planning;
4) Housing location services;
5) Rental subsidies;
6) Linkage to other services, as needed.
At least 60 days prior to the release of an ISMIP participant
from prison, an ISMIP provider selected by CDCR would draft a
discharge plan with the participant related to housing placement
and would assist the participant in obtaining identification and
benefits for which he or she is eligible. This bill would
require ISMIP to prioritize housing opportunities that are
supported by the Mental Health Services Act, the Mental Health
Services Act Housing Program, or other funding sources for
housing for individuals with mental illness. ISMIP providers
would be required to report specified data to CDCR. CDCR would
be required to report annually to the Legislature commencing by
February 1, 2013, and every February 1 thereafter, on the ISMIP
program.
Cost Pressure to Increase ISMIP Participation
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To the extent that these eligibility criteria make more than 300
individuals eligible for ISMIP, the current program capacity,
there would be increased cost pressure to serve each eligible
individual in an amount of approximately $30,000 per individual
annually. This bill would specify that this act would only be
operative when the Legislature appropriates moneys for ISMIP in
the Budget Act for each fiscal year.
On October 1, 2011, CDCR will begin to realign non-violent
offenders from state prisons to county jails in an effort to
reduce California's state prison population. It is unknown how
realignment would interact with this bill and how it would
affect ISMIP eligibility since it is likely that many
individuals who would have been eligible for this program prior
to realignment would no longer be on parole and would be
ineligible for this program.
The following is an estimate of the number of parolees that
would meet the ISMIP eligibility criteria set forth in this bill
post-realignment implementation. An inmate would be eligible and
would qualify for ISMIP if he or she participates in the
Enhanced Outpatient Program (EOP), the Correctional Clinical
Case Management System (CCCMS), or receives a higher level of
mental health care while in prison.
Current EOP population is 4,600 - 4,900 and 4,400 - 4,600 in
prison and on parole, respectively. Approximately 300 EOP
participants parole each month. However, 71 percent of the
monthly EOP releases are serving a revocation term. With
realignment, parole revocations would be served in county jails,
not in state prisons. Thus, with realignment, approximately 87
EOP participants would parole each month, or 1,044 annually.
Current CCCMS population is 31,000 and 18,000 in prison and on
parole, respectively. Approximately 1,600 CCCMS participants are
paroled monthly. Approximately 67 percent of those that parole
are serving a revocation term. Thus, with realignment,
approximately 528 CCCMS participants would parole each month, or
6,336 annually.
CDCR averages 22,000 mentally ill parolees. Of the monthly
average release of 10,800 inmates per month, approximately 1,900
are mentally ill-300 EOP and 1,600 CCCMS participants.
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Therefore, post-realignment, about 1,044 EOP and 6,336 CCCMS
participants would be eligible to receive ISMIP services
annually pursuant to this bill. After factoring in the 300
existing ISMIP participation slots, there would be cost pressure
to serve 7,080 additional parolees at an annual cost of $212
million General Fund. Actual cost pressure would depend on the
number of eligible parolees post-realignment implementation and
the number that opted to receive ISMIP services upon release.
Staff notes that this bill lacks a definition for "a higher
level of mental health care" and that the author may wish to
consider defining the term in order to narrow the scope of
program eligibility to reduce caseload and cost.
If this program were to effectively reduce the recidivism rate,
there could be potential long term savings to the correctional
system.
Interaction with Existing Lawsuits
To the extent that this bill would require that CDCR provide
mental-health care to parolees, it would expand the scope of the
existing Coleman class action lawsuit as well as increase the
litigation in the Valdivia class action case concerning
parolees. The increased litigation would likely span five or
more years. While the costs of litigation are unknown, it is
estimated that they would be approximately $600,000 annually and
necessary staffing would likely be up to $1 million annually
from the Legal Services Revolving Fund.
AS PROPOSED TO BE AMENDED. The author's proposed amendments
would delete most references to ISMIP and would instead permit
CDCR to establish a supportive housing program that would
provide wrap-around services, as defined, to mentally ill
parolees at risk of homelessness. Providers could include the
Parole Outpatient Clinics and they would provide a comprehensive
model of wrap-around services that would provide varied levels
of care that would promote the participant's health, mental
health, and housing stability, supportive and transitional
housing, and an array of mental health rehabilitative services.
Providers would be required to offer whatever services
participants require to maintain health and housing stability as
well as to augment mental health treatment provided to parolees.
An inmate or parolee would be eligible and would qualify for the
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supportive housing program if he or she meets the following
requirements:
1) Has a diagnosis of mental health disorder and a history
of mental health treatment in the prison's mental health
system or POC;
2) Voluntarily chooses to participate;
3) Is assigned a date of release within 60 to 180 days and
is likely to become homeless upon release or is currently a
homeless parolee.
CDCR would be required to use whatever existing funding sources
are available and appropriate to fund this program, including
funding for "wrap around services for mentally-ill parolees" and
for ISMIP program, when appropriate. Additionally, these
amendments would require the department to limit the number of
participants in the program based on available funding. An
expansion of the number participants served would take place
only to the extent that funding was available.
It is unknown how much it would cost to provide these services
and how many inmates and parolees would be eligible for this
program. However, based on the ISMIP model, it is likely to be
significant and at least in the millions of dollars annually. To
the extent that this supportive housing program successfully
reduces recidivism rates, there could be significant future cost
avoidance.