BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON HEALTH
Senator Ed Hernandez, O.D., Chair
BILL NO: AB 745
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|AUTHOR: |Chau |
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|VERSION: |April 6, 2015 |
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|HEARING DATE: |June 10, 2015 | | |
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|CONSULTANT: |Reyes Diaz |
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SUBJECT : Mental Health Services Oversight and Accountability
Commission.
SUMMARY : Requires the Governor to appoint an additional member to the
Mental Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission
in existing law, who has experience providing supportive housing
to people with a severe mental illness.
Existing law:
1)Establishes the Mental Health Services Oversight and
Accountability Commission (MHSOAC) to oversee the
implementation of the Mental Health Services Act (MHSA),
enacted by voters in 2004 as Proposition 63, which provides
funds to counties to expand services, and develop innovative
programs and integrated service plans, for mentally ill
children, adults, and seniors through a one percent income tax
on personal income above $1 million.
2)Requires the MHSOAC to consist of 16 voting members as
follows:
a) The Attorney General or his or her designee;
b) The Superintendent of Public Instruction or
his or her designee;
c) The Chair of the Senate Health and Human
Services Committee or another member of the Senate
selected by the President pro Tempore of the Senate;
d) The Chair of the Assembly Health Committee or
another member of the Assembly selected by the Speaker
of the Assembly; and,
e) 12 members appointed by the Governor that
include:
AB 745 (Chau) Page 2 of ?
i. Two people with a severe mental
illness;
ii. A family member of an adult or
senior with a severe mental illness;
iii. A family member of a child who has
or has had a severe mental illness;
iv. A physician specializing in alcohol
and drug treatment;
v. A mental health professional;
vi. A county sheriff;
vii. A superintendent of a school
district;
viii. A representative of a labor
organization;
ix. A representative of an employer
with less than 500 employees;
x. A representative of an employer
with more than 500 employees; and,
xi. A representative of a health care
services plan or insurer.
This bill:
1)Adds an additional voting member to the MHSOAC, to be
appointed by the Governor, who has experience providing
supportive housing to people with 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 MHSOAC meetings (from the MHSA administration
account).
PRIOR
VOTES :
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|Assembly Floor: |78 - 0 |
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|Assembly Appropriations Committee: |17 - 0 |
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|Assembly Health Committee: |18 - 0 |
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COMMENTS :
AB 745 (Chau) Page 3 of ?
1)Author's statement. 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. Of these
Californians, roughly 33,800 (25%) are considered chronically
homeless. According to researchers, at least one-third of
chronically homeless people are mentally ill. The MHSOAC
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 MHSOAC to include any
members with experience providing supportive housing to
persons with severe mental illness. Adding a member with
supportive housing experience to the MHSOAC would further
encourage the proven method of using supportive housing as a
tool to reduce homelessness.
2)Background. The 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
MHSOAC. 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 services.
In the three-year plans, counties are required to include a
list of all programs for which MHSA funding is being requested
and that identifies how the funds will be spent and which
populations will be served. Counties also must submit their
plans for approval to the MHSOAC before they can spend certain
categories of funding. At the time it was created, the MHSOAC
acted as a division within the Department of Mental Health
(DMH); however, legislative changes effective March 2009
required the MHSOAC to administer its operations apart from
DMH.
3)MHSA Housing Program. Executive Order S-07-06, signed by
Governor Schwarzenegger on May 12, 2006, mandated the
establishment of the MHSA Housing Program, with the stated
goal of creating 10,000 additional units of permanent
supportive housing for individuals and their families who have
AB 745 (Chau) Page 4 of ?
a mental illness and are homeless or at risk of homelessness.
DHCS, the California Housing Finance Agency (CalHFA), and the
County Behavioral Health Directors Association implemented the
MHSA Housing Program, which provides funding for development,
acquisition, construction, and/or rehabilitation of permanent
supportive housing for this population. A total of $400
million was set aside for initial funding of the program to
fund both capital costs and capitalized operating subsidies.
Continued funding of the program is a locally driven decision,
as a county determines whether to assign additional MHSA
funding beyond the original $400 million. By including an
individual on the MHSOAC who has experience in providing
supportive housing to those with a severe mental illness,
housing advocates hope to leverage existing MHSA funds to
continue funding the MHSA Housing Program, as the initial $400
million is nearing depletion.
Funds provided under this program must serve the MHSA Housing
Program target population, which DHCS has defined as
low-income adults, or older adults with serious mental
illness, and children with severe emotional disorders and
their families who, at the time of assessment for housing
services, meet the criteria for MHSA services in their county
of residence. Counties may use MHSA funds for supportive
housing, but are not required to. Supportive housing has
proven to be an effective strategy for reducing homelessness
among people with mental illness. Adding a member with
supportive housing experience to the MHSOAC may further
encourage the method of using supportive housing as a tool to
reduce homelessness of those with severe mental illness.
4)National data on mental illness and homelessness. In the
"Current Statistics on the Prevalence and Characteristics of
People Experiencing Homelessness in the United States," last
updated in July 2011 by the federal Substance Abuse and Mental
Health Services Administration, data from 2010 shows that,
nationally, on a given night 407,966 individuals were homeless
in shelters, transitional housing programs, or on the streets
(not including those who were sleeping at the homes of family
or friends), and 109,812 individuals were chronically homeless
(a one percent decrease from the previous year). Of these
individuals, 26.2% had a severe mental illness, and 34.7% of
adults had chronic substance use disorders. Over the course of
that year, data shows that a total of 1,593,150 individuals
experienced homelessness.
AB 745 (Chau) Page 5 of ?
5)Related legislation. AB 253 (Roger Hernández), makes specified
changes to the MHSA, the Veterans Housing and Homeless
Prevention Bond Act of 2014, and mental health plan
requirements. AB 253 is pending in the Senate.
6)Prior legislation. AB 1929 (Chau, Chapter 674, Statutes of
2014), allows county mental health departments to deposit MHSA
funding with CalHFA, as specified, and allows CalHFA to use
those funds for special housing needs for those with mental
illness. Requires counties to dedicate funds to provide
housing assistance to those with serious mental illness who
are homeless or to the mentally ill at risk of being homeless.
SB 82 (Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review, Chapter 34,
Statutes of 2013), established the Investment in Mental Health
Wellness Act of 2013 and authorizes the California Health
Facilities Financing Authority to administer a program to
increase capacity for mobile crisis support, crisis
intervention, crisis stabilization services, crisis
residential treatment, and specified personnel resources.
7)Support. The California Primary Care Association writes in
support and states that research has demonstrated the positive
effects that supportive housing has on an individual's
employment, mental health, physical health, and school
attendance, leading to a decrease in the use of hospitals,
emergency rooms, and jails and prisons. The California Chapter
of the National Association of Social Workers writes that
including an additional individual on the MHSOAC that has
experience in supportive housing is consistent with improving
mental health services to those in need.
SUPPORT AND OPPOSITION :
Support: California Chapter of the National Association of
Social Workers
California Primary Care Association
Oppose: None received.
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