BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 745
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ASSEMBLY THIRD READING
AB
745 (Chau)
As Amended April 6, 2015
2/3 vote
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|Committee |Votes |Ayes |Noes |
|----------------+------+------------------------+-------------------|
|Health |18-0 |Bonta, Maienschein, | |
| | |Bonilla, Burke, Chávez, | |
| | |Chiu, Gomez, Gonzalez, | |
| | |Roger Hernández, | |
| | |Lackey, Nazarian, | |
| | |Patterson, Rodriguez, | |
| | |Santiago, Steinorth, | |
| | |Thurmond, Waldron, Wood | |
| | | | |
|----------------+------+------------------------+-------------------|
|Appropriations |17-0 |Gomez, Bigelow, Bloom, | |
| | |Bonta, Calderon, Chang, | |
| | |Daly, Eggman, | |
| | |Gallagher, Eduardo | |
| | |Garcia, Holden, Jones, | |
| | |Quirk, Rendon, Wagner, | |
| | |Weber, Wood | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
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SUMMARY: Requires the Governor to appoint an additional member to
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the Mental Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission
(Commission) who has experience providing supportive housing to
persons with a severe mental illness.
FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee, this bill has minor and absorbable costs to reimburse
for travel and lodgings for Commission meetings (Mental Health
Services Act (MHSA) administration account).
COMMENTS: According to the author, supportive housing has proven
to be an effective strategy for reducing homelessness among people
with mental illness. At any given moment more than 133,000
Californians are homeless. The author states that of these
Californians, roughly 33,800 - or 25% - are considered chronically
homeless. According to researchers, at least one-third of
chronically homeless people are mentally ill. The Commission
oversees the implementation of the MHSA and may advise the
Governor or the Legislature on mental health policy. However,
existing law does not require the Commission to include any
members with experience providing supportive housing to persons
with severe mental illness.
BACKGROUND: MHSA requires each county mental health department to
prepare and submit a three-year plan to the Department of Health
Care Services (DHCS) that must be updated each year and approved
by DHCS after review and comment by the Commission. The
Commission consists of 16 individuals, 12 of which are appointed
by the Governor. DHCS is required to provide guidelines to
counties related to each component of the MHSA, including, among
other things, community services and support content to provide
integrated mental health and other support services to those whose
needs are not currently met through other funding sources;
prevention and early intervention content to provide services to
avert mental health crises; and, innovative program content to
improve access to mental health care. In their three-year plans,
counties are required to include a list of all programs for which
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MHSA funding is being requested and that identifies how the funds
will be spent and which populations will be served.
At the time it was created, the Commission acted as a division
within the Department Mental Health (DMH); however, legislative
changes, effective March 2009 specified that the Commission is to
administer its operations separately and apart from DMH.
Currently, counties must submit their plans for approval to the
Commission before the counties may spend certain categories of
funding.
Support. The California Primary Care Association writes in
support of this bill that research has clearly demonstrated the
positive effects that supportive housing can have on an
individual's employment, mental health, physical health, and
school attendance, leading to decreased use of hospitals,
emergency rooms, jails, and prisons. Stable housing is a critical
component of engaging their patients in physical and behavioral
health care management. The requirement to include a voting
member on Commission with experience with supportive housing
services ensures that programs and funding targeting individuals
with behavioral health conditions takes the unique needs of those
individuals experiencing homelessness into consideration.
According to the National Association of Social Workers -
California Chapter (NASW), Proposition 63 of 2004 established the
Commission for the purposes of overseeing the implementation of
the MHSA. The NASW states in support that providing a person with
experience in supportive housing to the Commission is also
consistent with improving the delivery of mental health services
to those in need.
There is no opposition on file.
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Analysis Prepared by:
Paula Villescaz / HEALTH / (916) 319-2097 FN:
0000228