AB 1629, as amended, Bonta. Crime victims: compensation: reimbursement of violence peer counseling expenses.
Existing law provides for the compensation of victims and derivative victims of specified types of crimes by the California Victim Compensation and Government Claims Board from the Restitution Fund, a continuously appropriated fund, for specified losses suffered as a result of those crimes. Existing law sets forth eligibility requirements and specified limits on the amount of compensation the board may award. Existing law authorizes the board to reimburse a crime victim or derivative victim for the amount of outpatient mental health counseling-related expenses incurred by the victim or derivative victim, including peer counseling services provided by a rape crisis center, as specified.
This bill would additionally, until January 1, 2017, authorize the board to reimburse a crime victim or derivative victim for the amount of outpatient violence peer counseling-related expenses incurred by the victim or derivative victim, as specified. By expanding the authorization for the use of moneys in a continuously appropriated fund, 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 13957.9 is added to the Government
2Code, to read:
(a) begin delete(1)end delete In addition to the authorization provided in
4Sectionbegin delete 13957,end deletebegin insert 13957 and subject to the limitations set forth in
5Section 13957.2,end insert the board may grant for pecuniary loss, when the
6board determines it will best aid the person seeking compensation,
7begin delete as follows:end delete
8begin delete(2)end deletebegin delete end deletebegin deleteSubject to the limitations set forth in Section 13957.2, begin insert
reimbursement ofend insert the amount of outpatient psychiatric,
9reimburseend delete
10psychological, or other mental health counseling-related expenses
11incurred by the victim or derivative victim, including peer
12counseling services provided by violence peer counseling services
13provided by a service organization for victims of violent crime,
14and including family psychiatric, psychological, or mental health
15counseling for the successful treatment of the victim provided to
16family members of the victim in the presence of the victim, whether
17or not the family member relationship existed at the time of the
18crime, that became necessary as a direct result of the crime, subject
19to the following conditions:
20(A)
end delete
21begin insert(1)end insert The following persons may be reimbursed for the expense
22of their outpatient mental health counseling in an amount not to
23exceed ten thousand dollars ($10,000):
24(i)
end delete25begin insert(A)end insert A victim.
26(ii)
end delete
27begin insert(B)end insert A derivative victim who is the surviving parent, sibling,
28child, spouse, fiancé, or fiancée of a victim of a crime that directly
29resulted in the death of the victim.
30(iii)
end delete
P3 1begin insert(C)end insert A derivative victim, as described in paragraphs (1) to (4),
2inclusive, of subdivision (c) of Section 13955, who is the primary
3caretaker of a minor victim whose claim is not denied or reduced
4pursuant to Section 13956 in a total amount not to exceed ten
5thousand dollars ($10,000) for not more than two derivative
6victims.
7(B)
end delete
8begin insert(2)end insert The following persons may be reimbursed for the expense
9of their outpatient mental health counseling in an amount not to
10exceed five thousand dollars ($5,000):
11(i)
end delete
12begin insert(A)end insert A derivative victim not eligible for reimbursement pursuant
13tobegin delete subparagraph (A),end deletebegin insert paragraph (1),end insert provided that
mental health
14counseling of a derivative victim described in paragraph (5) of
15subdivision (c) of Section 13955, shall be reimbursed only if that
16counseling is necessary for the treatment of the victim.
17(ii)
end delete
18begin insert(B)end insert A victim of a crime of unlawful sexual intercourse with a
19minor committed in violation of subdivision (d) of Section 261.5
20of the Penal Code. A derivative victim of a crime committed in
21violation of subdivision (d) of Section 261.5 of the Penal Code
22shall not be eligible for reimbursement of mental health counseling
23expenses.
24(iii)
end delete
25begin insert(C)end insert A minor who suffers emotional injury as a direct result of
26witnessing a violent crime and who is not eligible for
27reimbursement of the costs of outpatient mental health counseling
28under any other provision of this chapter. To be eligible for
29reimbursement under this clause, the minor must have been in
30close proximity to the victim when he or she witnessed the crime.
31(C)
end delete
32begin insert(3)end insert The board may reimburse a victim or derivative victim for
33outpatient
mental health counseling in excess of that authorized
34bybegin delete subparagraph (A) or (B)end deletebegin insert paragraph (1) or (2)end insert or for inpatient
35psychiatric, psychological, or other mental health counseling if
36the claim is based on dire or exceptional circumstances that require
37more extensive treatment, as approved by the board.
38(D)
end delete
P4 1begin insert(4)end insert Expenses for psychiatric, psychological, or other mental
2health counseling-related services may be reimbursed only if the
3services
were provided by either of the following individuals:
4(i)
end delete
5begin insert(A)end insert A person who would have been authorized to provide those
6services pursuant to former Article 1 (commencing with Section
713959) as it read on January 1, 2002.
8(ii)
end delete
9begin insert(B)end insert A person who is licensed by the state to provide those
10services,
or who is properly supervised by a person who is so
11licensed, subject to the board’s approval and subject to the
12limitations and restrictions the board may impose.
13(b) The total award to or on behalf of each victim or derivative
14victim may not exceed thirty-five thousand dollars ($35,000),
15except that this amount may be increased to seventy thousand
16dollars ($70,000) if federal funds for that increase are available.
17(c) For the purposes of this section, the following definitions
18shall apply:
19(1) “Service organization for victims of violent crime” means
20a nongovernmental organization that meets both of the following
21criteria:
22(A) Its primary mission is to
provide services to victims of
23violent crime.
24(B) It provides programs or services to victims of violent crime
25and their families, and other programs, whether or not a similar
26program exists in an agency that provides additional services.
27(2) “Violence peer counseling services” means counseling by
28a violence peer counselor for the purpose of rendering advice or
29assistance for victims of violent crime and their families.
30(3) “Violence peer counselor” means a provider of formal or
31informal counseling services who is employed by a service
32organization for victims of violent crime, whether financially
33compensated or not, and who meets all of the following
34requirements:
35(A) Possesses at least six months of full-time equivalent
36experience in providing peer support services acquired through
37employment, volunteer work, or as part of an internship experience.
38(B) Completed a training program aimed at preparing an
39individual who was once a mental health services consumer to use
40his or her life experience with mental health treatment, combined
P5 1with other strengths and skills, to promote the mental health
2recovery of other mental health services consumers who are in
3need of peer-based services relating to recovery as a victim of a
4
violent crime.
5(C) Possesses 40 hours of training on all of the following:
6(i) The profound neurological, biological, psychological, and
7social effects of trauma and violence.
8(ii) Peace-building and violence prevention strategies, including,
9but not limited to, conflict mediation and retaliation prevention
10related to gangs and gang-related violence.
11(iii) Post-traumatic stress disorder and vicarious trauma,
12especially as related to gangs and gang-related violence.
13(iv) Case management practices, including, but not limited to,
14ethics and victim compensation advocacy.
15(D) When providing violence peer counseling services, is
16
supervised by a marriage and family therapist licensed pursuant
17to Chapter 13 (commencing with Section 4980) of Division 2 of
18the Business and Professions Code, a licensed educational
19psychologist licensed pursuant to Chapter 13.5 (commencing with
20Section 4989.10) of Division 2 of the Business and Professions
21Code, a clinical social worker licensed pursuant to Chapter 14
22(commencing with Section 4991) of Division 2 of the Business
23and Professions Code, or a licensed professional clinical counselor
24licensed pursuant to Chapter 16 (commencing with Section
254999.10) of Division 2 of the Business and Professions Code. For
26the purposes of this subparagraph,begin delete the supervision requirement is a licensed marriage and family therapist, licensed
27satisfied ifend delete
28educational psychologist, licensed clinical social worker, orbegin delete aend delete
29
licensed professional clinical counselorbegin delete isend deletebegin insert shall beend insert employed by
30the same service organization as the violence peer counselor.
31(d) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1, 2017,
32and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute, that
33is enacted before January 1, 2017, deletes or extends that date.
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