BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Senator Ricardo Lara, Chair
2015 - 2016 Regular Session
SB 621 (Hertzberg) - Mentally ill offender crime reduction
grants
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|Version: February 27, 2015 |Policy Vote: PUB. S. 7 - 0 |
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|Urgency: No |Mandate: No |
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|Hearing Date: April 20, 2015 |Consultant: Jolie Onodera |
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This bill meets the criteria for referral to the Suspense File.
Bill
Summary: SB 621 would expand the authorized use of funds from
the Mentally Ill Offender Crime Reduction (MIOCR) grant program
to include "diversion programs" that offer appropriate mental
health treatment and services.
Fiscal
Impact:
Major future cost pressure in the millions of dollars (General
Fund/Special Fund) to the extent adding diversion programs as
an authorized use of MIOCR grant funds results in additional
funding appropriated and subsequently awarded for these
programs.
To the extent the level of existing MIOCR grant funding
remains unchanged or decreases in future years, expanding the
authorized use of funds could result in a shift of grant
SB 621 (Hertzberg) Page 1 of
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awards to diversion programs, thereby reducing available grant
funding for alternative custody programs.
Background: In 1998, the Legislature, under SB 1485 (Rosenthal) Chapter
501/1998, authorized the MIOCR grant program to fund innovative
local programs targeting mentally ill offenders. The MIOCR grant
program provided more than $80 million to 30 projects in 26 of
California's 58 counties. Although an evaluation of the MIOCR
grant program in 2005 indicated generally favorable outcomes,
the program was defunded in 2008.
Pursuant to SB 1054 (Steinberg) Chapter 436/2014, the Board of
State and Community Corrections (BSCC) is to administer MIOCR
grants on a competitive basis to counties that expand or
establish a continuum of timely and effective responses to
reduce crime and criminal justice costs related to mentally ill
offenders. Under existing law, the grants are to be divided
equally between adult and juvenile MIOCR grants in accordance
with the funds appropriated for each type of grant. The grants
are required to support prevention, intervention, supervision,
and incarceration-based services and strategies to reduce
recidivism and to improve outcomes for mentally ill juvenile and
adult offenders. (Penal Code (PC) § 6045.)
Existing law specifies that the BSCC shall award grants that
provide funding for three years based on four-year program plans
submitted by counties, and that funding must be used to
supplement, rather than supplant, funding for existing programs.
Counties are required to contribute resources of at least 25
percent of the amount of the grant, which may include in-kind
contributions. In awarding grants, priority or preference is to
be given to those grant applications that include documented
match funding that exceeds 25 percent of the grant. Existing law
further specifies that funds may be used to fund specialized
alternative custody programs that offer appropriate mental
health treatment and services. (PC § 6045.4.)
The Budget Act of 2014 included $18 million appropriated to the
BSCC from the Recidivism Reduction Fund for the MIOCR grant
program. The BSCC has indicated 35 applications for MIOCR
projects requesting nearly $32.6 million in grant funds have
SB 621 (Hertzberg) Page 2 of
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been received. While no grants have been awarded to date, the
BSCC has indicated award recommendations will be presented to
the BSCC Board in June 2015.
Proposed
Law: This bill would expand the authorized use of funds for the
MIOCR grant program to include "diversion programs" that offer
appropriate mental health treatment and services.
Related
Legislation: SB 1054 (Steinberg) Chapter 436/2014 made
technical amendments to the MIOCR grant program which was
re-established in the Budget Act of 2014-15. SB 1054 shortened
the timeframe of the MIOCR grant funding period from four years
to three years, clarified the funds are to be divided equally
between juvenile and adult programs, and revised the BSCC
reporting requirement timeframes.
SB 1485 (Rosenthal) Chapter 501/1998 established the MIOCR grant
program which required the Board of Corrections to administer
and award grants on a competitive basis to counties that expand
or establish a continuum of swift, certain, and graduated
responses to reduce crime and criminal justice costs related to
mentally ill offenders. The bill required funding for the
program to be provided, upon appropriation by the Legislature,
in the annual Budget Act.
Staff
Comments: Under current law, MIOCR grants are required to
support various types of services, including but not limited to
prevention services, to reduce recidivism and to improve
outcomes for mentally ill juvenile and adult offenders. While
diversion programs clearly fall under the category of prevention
services, and are consistent with the intent of MIOCR grant
program goals, existing law restricts the use of MIOCR grant
funds to alternative custody programs.
Expanding the authorized use of MIOCR grant funds to include
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"diversion programs" would create future cost pressure in the
millions of dollars to the extent additional funding is
appropriated for these programs. While the $18 million included
in the 2014 Budget was appropriated from the Recidivism
Reduction Fund, these funds are limited, and any future
appropriations would likely be from the General Fund unless
other Special Funds are identified. To the extent the existing
funding level of $18 million for the MIOCR grant program remains
unchanged or decreases in future years, expanding the authorized
use of funds to include diversion programs could result in a
shift of grant awards to diversion programs, thereby reducing
the amount of available grant funding potentially awarded to
alternative custody programs.
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