BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 2017
Page 1
GOVERNOR'S VETO
AB
2017 (McCarty)
As Enrolled September 7, 2016
2/3 vote
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|ASSEMBLY: |77-0 |(June 2, 2016) |SENATE: | 39-0 |(August 23, |
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|ASSEMBLY: |80-0 |(August 29, | | | |
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Original Committee Reference: HEALTH
SUMMARY: Establishes the College Mental Health Services Program
(CMHS Program) Act, which creates a grant program (CMHS Program
Grant) for public community colleges, colleges, and universities
to improve access to mental health services and early
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identification or intervention programs. Specifically, this
bill:
1)Establishes, upon appropriation by the Legislature to the
Mental Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission
(MHSOAC), the CMHS Program Grant.
2)Requires the MHSOAC to create a grant program for public
community colleges, colleges, and universities, in
collaboration with county behavioral health departments, to
improve access to mental health services and early
identification or intervention programs.
3)Requires the MHSOAC to establish guidelines for grant funding
and a request for application (RFA). Establishes RFA
guidelines, as specified.
4)Permits CMHS Program Grants to be awarded to a Community
College District in the California Community College system, a
campus within the California State University system, or a
campus within the University of California system.
5)Requires CMHS Program Grants to be proportional to the number
of students served, and cannot exceed more than $5 million per
campus, per application.
6)Requires CMHS Program Grants to be awarded on competitive
bases, only to a campus that can show dollar-for dollar match
of funds from the campus.
7)Requires the MHSOAC to provide technical assistance to smaller
colleges and counties, and county behavioral health
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departments upon request, in the application process to ensure
equitable distribution of CMHS Program Grant awards.
8)Requires CMHS Program Grant recipients to report annually to
the executive office of their respective systems. Requires
the report to include the following information: a) grant
funds and matching revenue expenditures; b) available
evaluation data, including outcomes of the campus mental
health programs funded; c) program information regarding
services being offered and the number of individuals being
served; and, d) plans for sustainability of mental health
programming beyond the funding from the CMHS Program Grant.
9)Requires the MHSOAC, upon an appropriation of funds, to
contract with a public or private research university or
institute in this state to evaluate the CMHS Program.
Requires the MHSOAC to develop the research design and issue a
request for proposal for a contract for the evaluation, with
the assistance of the Department of Finance and requires the
MHSOAC to develop an evaluation plan to assess the impact of
the program.
10)Requires the MHSOAC to submit the evaluation established in
9) above, to the Legislature by February 1, 2019, and annually
thereafter by no later than February 1 of each year, and
requires that the report be made available to the public and
on the MHSOAC Internet Web site.
11)Establishes legislative findings and declarations related to
college mental health services.
12)Establishes a January 1, 2022, sunset of the CMHS Program.
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FISCAL EFFECT: According to the Senate Appropriations
Committee, unknown ongoing costs to provide grant funds to
public college campuses (General Fund or other fund source),
one-time costs of $240,000 and ongoing costs of $365,000 per
year for DHCS to provide technical assistance to grantees and to
oversee the operation of the program (General Fund), ongoing
costs likely between $1 million and $2 million per year CalMHSA
to develop grant guidelines, review grant applications, and
provide technical assistance to college campuses (General Fund)
and unknown costs to public college campuses to put up matching
funds to receive grants under the bill (General Fund or special
funds).
COMMENTS: According to the author, there are tremendous mental
health needs that Californians face related to access, care, and
homelessness. However, an often forgotten part of this
discussion is our college-age students. Unfortunately, many of
our public colleges do not have mental health services for their
students on campus, particularly community colleges. Due to a
lack of access to care, college-aged students often do not seek
mental health services when they need them. The stigma around
mental health is something that can be improved if we increase
access to mental health services for students. The author
argues that if students have the resources they need, which is
the intent of this bill, the more likely they will seek help.
Proposition 63 was passed by voters in November 2004. The MHSA
imposes a 1% income tax on personal income in excess of $1
million and creates the 16 member Commission charged with
overseeing the implementation of MHSA. The fiscal year (FY)
2015-16 Governor's Budget projected that $1.776 billion would be
deposited into the MHSF in FY 2015-16. The MHSA addresses a
broad continuum of prevention, early intervention, and service
needs, as well as provided funding for infrastructure,
technology, and training needs for the community mental health
system. In addition to local programs, the MHSA authorizes up
to 5% of revenues for state administration. These include
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administrative functions performed by a variety of state
entities such as the DHCS and the Office of Statewide Health
Planning and Development (OSHPD). It also funds evaluation of
the MHSA by the Commission, which was established by the MHSA.
MHSA requires each county mental health department to prepare
and submit a three-year plan to DHCS that must be updated each
year and approved by DHCS after review and comment by the
Commission. In their three-year plans, counties are required to
include a list of all programs for which MHSA funding is being
requested, that identify how the funds will be spent, and which
populations will be served. Counties must submit their plans
for approval to the Commission before the counties may spend
certain categories of funding.
According to national data compiled by the Center for Collegiate
Mental Health over six academic years (2009-15) from over 93
institutions, on average, the growth in the number of students
seeking services at counseling centers (+29.6%) was more than
five times the rate of institutional enrollment (+5.6%).
Further, the growth in counseling center appointments (+38.4) is
more than seven times the rate of institutional enrollment. The
lifetime prevalence rate for serious suicidal ideation among
college students (i.e., "I have seriously considered suicide")
has increased substantially over the last five years from 23.8%
to more than 32.9%, a considerable change, especially in the
context of other indices that are decreasing, at, or increasing
only slightly.
According to data compiled by the California Electronic Violent
Death Reporting System (CalEVDRS), a total of 6,471 individuals
from 20 to 24 years of age were treated for a suicide attempt in
2014. This represents a 17% increase (5,553 to 6,471) from 2000
to 2014 in individuals who attempted suicide who received
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professional treatment by either being hospitalized or treated
in an emergency department. CalEVDRS provides detailed
information from participating counties on violent deaths,
including homicides and suicides by linking data from vital
statistics death files, supplementary homicide reports from the
California Department of Justice, and coroners' investigations.
GOVERNOR'S VETO MESSAGE:
I am returning Assembly Bill 2017 without my signature.
This bill requires the Mental Health Services Oversight and
Accountability Commission to establish a grant program for
mental health services at public colleges and universities,
subject to a future appropriation.
While well-intentioned, the bill is premature as it commits to a
particular program structure without specifying the amount or
source of funding. Without this pertinent information, I cannot
give this matter full consideration, given the complexities of
mental health funding.
Analysis Prepared by:
Paula Villescaz / HEALTH / (916) 319-2097 FN:
0005068
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