BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Senator Ricardo Lara, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular Session
SB 518 (Leno) - Victims of violent crimes: trauma recovery
centers
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|Version: April 20, 2015 |Policy Vote: PUB. S. 7 - 0 |
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|Urgency: No |Mandate: No |
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|Hearing Date: May 11, 2015 |Consultant: Maureen Ortiz |
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This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File.
Bill
Summary: SB 518 requires the California Victim Compensation and
Government Claims Board (CVCGCB) to use the San Francisco
General Hospital, UCSF Integrated Trauma Recovery Services model
when providing grants to trauma recovery centers.
Fiscal
Impact:
Administrative costs to the CVCGCB of $100,000-$300,000
(Special Fund)
Upon appropriation of funds, the board will be required to
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develop language for grant applications, and grant review
criteria; and to provide training and technical assistance to
applicants in conjunction with the UCSF Trauma Recovery Center.
Additionally, there will be costs with evaluating and measuring
grantees' adherence to the model. These costs will likely come
from the Restitution Fund, however, the bill is silent on the
source of the appropriation.
Background: Existing law creates the Victims of Crime Program,
administered by the California Victim Compensation and
Government Claims Board, to reimburse victims of crime for the
pecuniary losses they suffer as a direct result of criminal acts
such as medical related expenses. Indemnification is made from
the Restitution Fund, which is continuously appropriated to the
board for these purposes.
Existing law requires the board to enter into an interagency
agreement with the University of California, San Francisco to
establish a recovery center for victims of crime at the San
Francisco General Hospital for comprehensive and integrated
services to victims of crime, subject to funding.
The state budget act appropriates $2 million annually to a
grant program created in 2013 to replicate the successful
Trauma Recovery Center (TRC) pioneered by UC San Francisco.
The TRC treatment model was developed in 2001 to address
the multiple barriers victims face recovering from crime,
and utilizes a comprehensive, flexible approach designed to
meet the unique needs of crime victims suffering from
trauma. TRCs utilize a multidisciplinary staff to provide
direct mental health services and health treatment while
coordinating services with law enforcement and other social
service agencies, and all services are housed under one
roof, with one coordinating point of contact for the
victim.
Proposition 47, the Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Act of 2014,
reclassifies controlled substance felony and alternate
felony-misdemeanor crimes as misdemeanors, except for defendants
convicted of a sex offense, a specified drug crime involving
specified weight of volume of the drug, a crime where the
defendant used or was armed with a weapon, a homicide,
solicitation of murder and any crime for which the sentence is a
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life term. Additionally, the Act requires the Director of
Finance, beginning in 2016, to calculate the savings from the
reduced penalties and requires the Controller to distribute the
amount of savings according to the following formula:
a) 25% to the Department of Education for a
grant program to public agencies to improve outcomes
for kindergarten through high school students at risk
of dropping out of school or who are crime victims.
b) 10% to the Victims of Crime Program to fund
for grants to TRCs.
c) 65% to the Board of State and Community
Corrections for a grant program to public agencies for
mental health and drug abuse treatment and diversion
programs, with an emphasis on reducing recidivism.
Proposed Law:
SB 518 does the following:
1) Requires the California Victim Compensation and
Government Claims Board (board) to use the evidenced-based
Integrated Trauma Recovery Services model developed by the
UCSF Trauma Recovery Center when it selects, establishes,
and implements trauma recovery centers.
2) Requires the board to award grants only to a trauma
recovery center that uses the following core elements:
a) Provides outreach and services to crime victims who
typically are unable to access traditional services, as
specified.
b) Services victims of a wide range of crimes including
sexual assault, domestic violence, physical assault,
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shooting, stabbing, and vehicular assault, human
trafficking, and family members of homicide victims.
c) Provides a structured evidence-based program of mental
health and support services that includes crisis
intervention, individual and group treatment, medication
management, substance abuse treatment, case management, and
assertive outreach.
d) Has a staff that includes a multidisciplinary team of
integrated trauma specialists that includes psychiatrists,
psychologists, and social workers.
e) Provides a single point of contact for psychotherapy
and case management such as an individual trauma specialist
with support from an integrated trauma treatment team.
f) Includes services of assertive case management, as
specified.
g) Does not exclude clients solely on the basis of
emotional or behavioral issues resulting from trauma.
h) Incorporates established evidence-based practices such
as motivational interviewing, harm reduction, seeking
safety, cognitive behavioral therapy, dialectical behavior,
and cognitive processing therapy.
i) Has the goals of decreasing psychosocial distress,
minimizing long-term disability, improving overall quality
of life, reducing the risk of future victimizations, and
promoting post-traumatic growth.
j) Provides treatments of up to 16 sessions, but allows
for extensions in certain instances.
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3) Requires the board, upon appropriation of funds by the
Legislature, to enter into an interagency agreement with the
UCSF Trauma Recovery Center to establish that center as the
State of California's Trauma Recovery Center of Excellence
(TR-COE). The interagency agreement will require the following:
a) Requires the board to consult with the TR-COE to
develop language for grant applications and for the
development of grant review criteria.
b) Requires the TR-COE to define the core elements of the
evidence-based practice.
c) Requires the board to consult with the TR-COE in the
replication of the integrated trauma recovery services
approach.
d) Requires the TR-COE to assist the board by providing
training materials, technical assistance, and ongoing
consultation.
e) Requires the TR-COE to assist in designing a multisite
evaluation to measure adherence to the practice and
effectiveness of each center.
4) Provides that the University of California is not required
to enter into the interagency agreement unless adopted by a
resolution.
Staff
Comments: With the enactment of Proposition 47 in 2014, it is
anticipated that there will be an additional several million
dollars allocated annually to the trauma recovery centers. The
Legislative Analyst's Office (LAO) estimates future additional
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funding for the TRC grant program at anywhere between $10-20
million annually. Proposition 47 was passed by nearly 60% of
the California electorate, and the LAO has recommended that
these savings be spent as effectively as possible.
Recommended
Amendments: Staff recommends moving the Legislative Findings
and Declarations in Section 1 and in Section 2 to an uncodified
section of SB 518 in order to maintain code consistency and
clarity. Also, a technical amendment is needed on page 9, line
31, to delete "and".
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