BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SCR 131|
|Office of Senate Floor Analyses | |
|(916) 651-1520 Fax: (916) | |
|327-4478 | |
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SCR 131
Author: Beall (D)
Introduced:4/14/16
Vote: 21
SUBJECT: National Mental Health Awareness Month
SOURCE: Author
DIGEST: This resolution recognizes May 2016 as National Mental
Health Awareness Month in California to enhance public awareness
of mental illness.
ANALYSIS: This resolution makes the following legislative
findings:
1)Mental illness is one of the leading causes of disabilities in
the United States, affecting one out of every four families
and victimizing both the person with the illness and those
persons who care for and love the person afflicted.
2)Fifty-seven million Americans have a mental disorder in any
given year, but fewer than 40 percent of adults living with a
mental illness, and slightly more than one-half of youth 8 to
15 years of age, with a mental illness received mental health
services in the last year.
3)Although mental illness impacts all people, many of those in
lower-income communities receive less care, poorer quality of
care, and often lack access to culturally competent care,
thereby resulting in mental health disparities.
SCR 131
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4)Some see negative perceptions about mental health care as a
significant factor contributing to limited or nonexistent
access to care, and some common concerns are stigma, culture,
masculinity, exposure to violence, and lack of information and
awareness, among many others.
5)The three major brain diseases, schizophrenia, bipolar
disorder, and depression, adversely affect the economy,
contribute to the rise of incarceration rates, and erode the
quality of life for patients and their loved ones.
6)There is a need to improve public awareness of mental illness
and to strengthen local and national awareness of brain
diseases, so that all those with mental illness may receive
adequate and appropriate treatment that will result in their
becoming fully functioning members of society.
7)There is a need to encourage primary care physicians to offer
screenings, to partner with mental health care providers, to
seek appropriate referrals to specialists, and to encourage
timely and accurate diagnoses of mental disorders.
This resolution recognizes May 2016 as National Mental Health
Awareness Month in California to enhance public awareness of
mental illness.
Prior Legislation
SCR 67 (Stone, Resolution Chapter 103, Statutes of 2015)
recognized May 2015 as National Mental Health Awareness Month to
enhance public awareness of mental illness.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
SCR 131
Page 3
Com.:NoLocal: No
SUPPORT: (Verified4/19/16)
None received
OPPOSITION: (Verified4/19/16)
None received
Prepared by: Karen Chow / SFA / (916) 651-1520
4/20/16 16:32:16
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