BILL ANALYSIS Ó
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|SENATE RULES COMMITTEE | SB 621|
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THIRD READING
Bill No: SB 621
Author: Hertzberg (D)
Introduced:2/27/15
Vote: 21
SENATE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE: 7-0, 4/7/15
AYES: Hancock, Anderson, Leno, Liu, McGuire, Monning, Stone
SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: 7-0, 5/28/15
AYES: Lara, Bates, Beall, Hill, Leyva, Mendoza, Nielsen
SUBJECT: Mentally ill offender crime reduction grants
SOURCE: Los Angeles District Attorney's Office
DIGEST: This bill explicitly includes a reference to
"diversion" programs that offer appropriate mental health
treatment and services among the programs for which Mentally Ill
Offender Crime Reduction funds may be used.
ANALYSIS:
Existing law:
1)Establishes the Board of State and Community Corrections
(BSCC) as an independent entity of the California Department
of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR). (Penal Code §
6024(a).)
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2)Provides that it is the mission of the BSCC to provide
statewide leadership, coordination, and technical assistance
to promote effective state and local efforts and partnerships
in California's adult and juvenile criminal justice system.
(Penal Code § 6024(b).)
3)Requires BSCC to "administer mentally ill offender crime
reduction 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. The grants administered under this
article by the board shall be divided equally between adult
and juvenile mentally ill offender crime reduction grants in
accordance with the funds appropriated for each type of grant.
The grants shall 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 § 6045(a).)
4)Provides that the "application submitted by a county shall
describe a four-year plan for the programs, services, or
strategies to be provided under the grant. The board shall
award grants that provide funding for three years. Funding
shall be used to supplement, rather than supplant, funding for
existing programs. Funds may be used to fund specialized
alternative custody programs that offer appropriate mental
health treatment and services. . . . (Penal Code § 6045.4)
This bill expressly includes the word "diversion" as a kind of
program authorized to receive these funds.
Background
Last year's budget allocated $18 million -- $9 million for adult
offenders and $9 million for juvenile offenders -- to the
Mentally Ill Offender Crime Reduction Program (MIOCR) as
authorized by the passage of SB 1054 (Steinberg, Chapter 436,
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Statutes of 2014). MIOCR originated in 1998, when the
Legislature passed SB 1485 (Rosenthal). Under SB 1485, the
Board of Corrections (what is now the BSCC) awarded grants to
support the development, implementation, and evaluation of
projects that demonstrated locally identified strategies for
reducing recidivism among mentally ill offenders.
An evaluation of the MIOCRG (Mentally Ill Offender Crime
Reduction Grant) program in 2005 indicated generally favorable
outcomes:
The Board's analysis of the local research findings
confirms that the enhanced treatment and support
services offered through the MIOCRG program made a
positive difference. The statewide research shows
that program participants were: 1) more
comprehensively diagnosed and evaluated regarding
their mental functioning and therapeutic needs, 2)
more quickly and reliably provided with services
designed to ameliorate the effects of mental illness,
3) provided with more complete after-jail systems of
care designed to ensure adequate treatment and
support, and 4) monitored more closely to ensure that
additional illegal behavior, mental deterioration, and
other areas of concern were quickly addressed. As a
result, MIOCRG participants were booked less often,
convicted less often, and convicted of less serious
offenses when they were convicted than were those
receiving treatment as usual (TAU). Fewer
participants served time in jail and, when they did
serve time, they were in jail for fewer days than were
TAU participants. MIOCRG participants improved in
'Quality of Life' outcomes including Global Assessment
of Functioning (GAF) scores, reduced substance
use/abuse, having housing, and economic
self-sufficiency.
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
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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.
FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal
Com.:YesLocal: No
According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:
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
awards to diversion programs, thereby reducing available grant
funding for alternative custody programs.
SUPPORT: (Verified5/28/15)
Los Angeles District Attorney's Office (source)
American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy, California
Division
American Civil Liberties Union of California
California Attorneys for Criminal Justice
California District Attorneys Association
California Fraternal Order of Police
California Probation Parole and Correctional Association
California State Association of Counties
Chief Probation Officers of California
Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors
County Behavioral Health Directors Association
Disability Rights California
Legal Services for Prisoners with Children
Long Beach Police Officers Association
Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors
Los Angeles County Professional Peace Officers Association
Marin County Board of Supervisors
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Mental Health America of California
National Alliance on Mental Illness California
Sacramento County Deputy Sheriffs' Association
Santa Ana Police Officers Association
OPPOSITION: (Verified5/28/15)
None received
ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT:
The author states:
In an effort to reinvest in treatment and prevention
at the local level, SB 621 promotes cost-effective
approaches to meet the long-term needs of adults and
juveniles with mental disorders who are offenders.
This bill will give counties the resources they need
to divert mentally ill low-level offenders to
treatment rather than jail, with follow-up services
for those released from jail to keep them from
reoffending.
Prepared by:Alison Anderson / PUB. S. /
5/30/15 18:02:01
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