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: May 20, 2015           |Policy Vote: PUB. S. 7 - 0      |
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          |Urgency: No                     |Mandate: No                     |
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          |Hearing Date: May 28, 2015      |Consultant: Maureen Ortiz       |
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          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. 


          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  
          life term.  Additionally, the Act requires the Director of  
          Finance, beginning in 2016, to calculate the savings from the  








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          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,  
               shooting, stabbing, and vehicular assault, human  
               trafficking, and family members of homicide victims.








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               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.


          3) Requires the board, upon appropriation of funds by the  








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          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  
          funding for the TRC grant program at anywhere between $10-20  
          million annually.   Proposition 47 was passed by nearly 60% of  








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          the California electorate, and the LAO has recommended that  
          these savings be spent as effectively as possible.


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