Amended in Senate September 3, 2013

Amended in Senate June 24, 2013

Amended in Assembly May 24, 2013

Amended in Assembly April 17, 2013

Amended in Assembly April 4, 2013

Amended in Assembly March 19, 2013

California Legislature—2013–14 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 174

Introduced by Assembly Member Bonta

January 24, 2013

An act to add and repeal Section 124174.7 of the Health and Safety Code, relating to public health.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 174, as amended, Bonta. Public school health centers.

Existing law establishes the Public School Health Center Support Program, pursuant to which the State Department of Public Health, in collaboration with the State Department of Education, provides, among other things, technical assistance to school health centers on effective outreach and enrollment strategies to identify children who are eligible for, but not enrolled in, the Medi-Cal program, the Healthy Families Program, or any other applicable program and technical assistance to facilitate and encourage the establishment, retention, or expansion of school health centers.

This bill would require the State Department of Public Health to establish, within the County of Alameda, a grant pilot program within the Public School Health Center Support Program that would be known as Promoting Resilience: Offering Mental Health Interventions to Support Education (PROMISE). begin delete The bill would authorize the department to delegate administrative duties relating to the program to the County of Alameda. By imposing new duties on county employees, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. end delete

The program would operate for the 2015-16 school year. The program would provide resources to eligible applicants, including local education agencies, nonprofit organizations, and community health centers, to fund activities and services to directly address the mental health and related needs of students who are impacted by trauma, as specified. The bill would define trauma for these purposes. The bill would require the department, within 60 days following the completion of the program, to submit specified information on the program to the appropriate policy and fiscal committees of the Legislature. The bill would require the department to implement these provisions only to the extent that funding is made begin delete available, as specified, and would provide that any administrative costs incurred by the state department be reimbursable through nonstate funds. end delete begin insert available from nonstate resources, as specified. end insert The bill would repeal these provisions on January 1, 2019.

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The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.

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This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these statutory provisions.

end delete

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program:  begin delete yes end delete begin insert no end insert .

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.  

Section 124174.7 is added to the Health and
Safety Code, to read:

124174.7.  

(a) (1) The State Department of Public Health shall
establish a grant pilot program within the Public School Health
Center Support Program to fund activities and services to directly
address the mental health and related needs of students who are
impacted by trauma. This grant pilot program shall be named
Promoting Resilience: Offering Mental Health Interventions to
Support Education (PROMISE).

(2) The department shall establish the pilot program in the
County of Alameda in up to 10 facilities that meet the requirements
in this section. begin delete The department may delegate administrative duties
relating to the program to the County of Alameda. end delete

(3) The program shall operate for the 2015-16 school year.

(4) Within 60 days following completion of the program, the
department shall review and compile the results of the summary
reports prepared by participating facilities pursuant to paragraph
(3) of subdivision (d) and submit that information to the appropriate
policy and fiscal committees of the Legislature.

(b) Grant funds shall be used according to the following
requirements:

(1) Grant funds shall be used by eligible applicants to directly
address the mental health and related needs of students who are
impacted by trauma.

(2) Grant funds may be used for the following activities and
services:

(A) Individual, family, and group counseling.

(B) Targeted outreach and education.

(C) Risk screening, triage, and referral to campus-based services.

(D) Schoolwide violence prevention and response efforts.

(E) Youth development programming related to trauma and
violence.

(F) Crisis response coordination and services.

(G) Case management services.

(H) Coordination with off-campus mental health and support
services.

(I) Staff training and consultation on supporting students’
trauma-related needs.

(J) Oversight, coordination, and evaluation of the above
activities and services.

(3) Individual, family, and group counseling funded by a grant
awarded pursuant to this section may be provided by any of the
following:

(A) A mental health clinician licensed by the Board of
Behavioral Sciences, including a licensed marriage and family
therapist, a licensed clinical social worker, or a licensed educational
psychologist.

(B) A clinical psychologist licensed by the Board of Psychology.

(C) A psychiatric nurse practitioner licensed by the Board of
Registered Nursing.

(D) A psychiatrist licensed by the Medical Board of California.

(E) A school social worker credentialed by the State of
California.

(F) An unlicensed mental health professional who is registered
by either the Board of Behavioral Sciences or the Board of
Psychology, and who is receiving clinical supervision as prescribed
by that entity.

(4) Other activities and services, including schoolwide violence
prevention efforts, shall be provided or overseen by a mental health
professional as described in subparagraphs (A) through (F),
inclusive, of paragraph (3).

(5) Grant funds may be used to provide referrals to
evidence-based mental health treatment services in the community.

(c) Grant funds shall be awarded according to the following
requirements:

(1) Eligible applicants shall include:

(A) Local education agencies.

(B) Nonprofit organizations.

(C) Community health centers.

(D) The county mental health department.

(2) Grant applications shall comply with all of the following:

(A) Describe the applicant’s program to address the mental
health and other related needs of students who are impacted by
trauma, and to foster a positive school climate. At a minimum, the
program described in the application shall include:

(i) Individual, family, and group counseling.

(ii) Youth development programming related to trauma and
violence.

(iii) Schoolwide violence prevention and response efforts,
including, at a minimum, training for staff on trauma and their
roles in preventing and responding to it.

(iv) Coordination between school-based and community
services.

(v) A discussion of any components of the program for which
funding does not yet exist or is currently insufficient and for which
they are seeking grant funding.

(B) Demonstrate the applicant’s ability to provide a dedicated
space located on the school campus that will serve as the hub of
the program, that will be youth friendly, and, for middle and high
schools, that will be regularly accessible to students on a drop-in
basis.

(C) Demonstrate that each facility that will provide services is
capable of providing trauma-informed services to children and
youth.

(D) Provide evidence of a strong partnership and commitment
to collaboration between the school and any agencies or
organizations that will provide mental health, medical, or other
related services on the school campus, whether funded by this
grant or another funding source. Specific mechanisms by which
applicants shall provide this evidence shall be detailed in the
request for applications, but may include letters of agreement or
support, memoranda of understanding, or draft, signed
subcontracts.

(3) As detailed in the request for applications, priority for
awarding a grant shall be given to eligible applicants that
demonstrate the following:

(A) High levels of exposure to trauma and violence among the
target population.

(B) Limited access to mental health services among the target
population.

(C) An ability to meet the cultural and linguistic needs of the
target population.

(D) An ability to engage and serve subgroups of students within
the target population who are disproportionately impacted by
trauma and violence.

(E) An ability to hire staff with similar backgrounds and
experiences to the target population and who can therefore enhance
program impact.

(F) An ability to obtain additional sources of funding or
third-party reimbursement to create a robust and sustainable
school-based mental health program.

(G) An ability to integrate mental health and related services
with primary medical care.

(d) An eligible applicant that receives grant funds shall commit
to all of the following:

(1) Establish a written memorandum of understanding (MOU)
between the school, the school district, and other agencies or
organizations providing grant-funded mental health, medical, or
other related services, in an effort to develop a strong collaborative
partnership between involved entities.

(A) The collaborative partnership shall do all of the following:

(i) Include local education agency-employed personnel,
including school administrators, teachers, and staff, and any school
health personnel, including school nurses or social workers.

(ii) Include personnel employed by other agencies or
organizations, including community health centers, who provide
relevant services on campus.

(iii) Establish and implement regular communication protocols
between the school and agencies or organizations.

(iv) Engage all relevant personnel in identifying students who
would benefit from mental health or other related services and
linking them to those services.

(v) Promote the integration of funded services into the overall
school environment.

(B) The MOU shall do both of the following:

(i) Describe how services are coordinated on the campus and
how services will be integrated into the overall school environment.

(ii) Ensure the confidentiality and privacy of both education
and health information, consistent with applicable federal and state
laws.

(2) Make services available to all students in the school,
regardless of ability to pay.

(3) Submit a summary report to the department, within 30 days
following the completion of the program, that includes a discussion
of all of the following:

(A) The activities and services funded through the grant award.

(B) The number of students served through specific activities
and services.

(C) The roles and credentials of personnel funded through the
grant award.

(D) Any additional funding sources that are available to enhance
or sustain activities and services. To the extent possible, grant
reporting requirements shall be consistent with those required by
other funding mechanisms that support the program.

(E) An analysis of the effects of the program on the surrounding
community.

(e) (1) The department shall implement this section only to the
extent that funding is made available from begin delete the following sources: end delete

begin delete

(A) From funding made available through public sources, upon
appropriation by the Legislature, as applicable, and to the extent
permitted by law.

end delete

begin delete (B) end delete begin delete   end delete begin delete From other, end delete nonstate resources, including federal funding,
in-kind assistance, private funding, and foundation support for the
operation and distribution of grants for this program begin delete . end delete

begin delete (2) end delete begin delete   end delete begin delete Administrative end delete begin insert and for administrative end insert costs incurred by the
department in implementing this section begin delete shall be reimbursed
through federal funding, in-kind assistance, private funding,
foundation support, and any other nonstate funds end delete .

begin insert

(2) The department may work with private entities to facilitate
the direct gift of grant funds from the private entity to a grantee.

end insert

(f) For purposes of this section, “trauma” or “trauma exposure”
is defined as experiencing or being witness to community violence,
terrorism, disaster, sexual abuse, or other violent acts. The effects
of trauma or trauma exposure include emotional, cognitive,
physical, or interpersonal reactions as a result of the event
witnessed or experienced.

(g) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2019,
and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute, that
is enacted before January 1, 2019, deletes or extends that date.

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SEC. 2.  

If the Commission on State Mandates determines that
this act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to
local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made
pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division
4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.

end delete