BILL ANALYSIS Ó
SB 621
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Date of Hearing: June 30, 2015
Counsel: Sandy Uribe
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY
Bill Quirk, Chair
SB
621 (Hertzberg) - As Introduced February 27, 2015
SUMMARY: Authorizes the funds from Mentally Ill Offender Crime
Reduction Program to be used for diversion programs that offer
appropriate mental health and treatment services.
EXISTING LAW:
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1)Establishes the Board of State and Community Corrections
(BSCC) commencing July 1, 2012. (Pen. Code, § 6024, subd.
(a).)
2)States that the mission of the BSCC includes providing
statewide leadership, coordination, and technical assistance
to promote effective state and local efforts and partnerships
in California's adult and juvenile criminal justice system,
including addressing gang problems. This mission shall reflect
the principle of aligning fiscal policy and correctional
practices, including, but not limited to prevention,
intervention, suppression, supervision, and incapacitation, to
promote a justice investment strategy that fits each county
and is consistent with the integrated statewide goal of
improved public safety through cost-effective, promising, and
evidence-based strategies for managing criminal justice
populations. (Pen. Code, § 6024, subd. (b).)
3)Requires the 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. (Pen. Code, § 6045, subd. (a).)
4)Specifies that the grants must be divided equally between
adult and juvenile mentally ill offender crime reduction
grants, and requires the grants 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. (Pen. Code, §
6045, subd. (a).)
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5)Defines "mentally ill offenders" for purposes of the grant
program as seriously emotionally disturbed children or
adolescents; adults who have a serious mental disorder; and,
adults who require or are at risk of requiring acute
psychiatric inpatient care, residential treatment, or
outpatient crisis intervention because of a mental disorder
with symptoms of psychosis, suicidality, or violence. (Pen.
Code, § 6045, subd. (b).)
6)Requires the BSCC to establish minimum requirements, funding
criteria, and procedures for awarding grants. (Pen. Code, §
6045.6.)
7)Provides that an "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." (Pen. Code, § 6045.4, subd.
(a).)
FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown
COMMENTS:
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1)Author's Statement: According to the author, "The Mentally
Ill Offender Crime Reduction Grant Program supports the
implementation and evaluation of locally developed
demonstration projects designed to reduce recidivism among
persons with mental illness.
"The MIOCR Grant Program recognizes the cooperation between law
enforcement, corrections, mental health, and other agencies is
critical to improve California's response to mentally ill
offenders. Projects are to be collaborative and address
locally identified gaps in jail and community-based services
for persons with a serious mental illness.
"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 clarify that
counties should receive 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."
2)Mentally Ill Offender Crime Reduction Program: In 1998, the
Legislature passed SB 1485 (Rosenthal) establishing the
Mentally Ill Offender Crime Reduction Program. Under SB 1485,
the Board of Corrections (which was replaced by 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. Before the program was defunded in 2008,
grant-funded projects delivered targeted, enhanced services
and/or interventions while fostering interagency collaboration
between mental health and criminal justice agencies. The
program encompassed 30 projects in 26 counties. While the 30
projects were unique in that each was designed to deal with
the specific service gaps and needs of its jurisdiction, all
used their grants to maximize local resources, incorporate
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evidence-based best practices, and design service-delivery
systems that would enhance local capabilities. (California
Board of Corrections, Mentally Ill Offender Crime Reduction
Grant Program: Overview of Statewide Evaluation Findings (Mar.
2005)
.)
An evaluation of the Mentally Ill Offender Crime Reduction
Program in 2005 indicated generally favorable outcomes. The
Board's analysis of the local research findings confirmed that
the enhanced treatment and support services offered through
the program made a positive difference. The statewide
research showed that program participants, compared to those
receiving treatment as usual, 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." (Ibid.) As a result, program
"participants were booked less often, convicted less often,
and convicted of less serious offenses when they were
convicted than individuals receiving [treatment as usual
(TAU)]. In addition, fewer participants served time in jail
and, when they did serve time, they were in jail for fewer
days than were TAU participants." (Ibid.)
Last year, SB 1054 (Steinberg) - Chapter 436, Statutes of 2014,
reestablished the Mentally Ill Offender Crime Reduction
Program with some differences from its previous incarnation.
Most importantly for purposes of this bill, SB 1054 allows
grants to be awarded to specialized alternative custody
programs that offer appropriate mental health treatment and
services. Previous legislation prevented the use of grants
towards programs providing an alternative to incarceration.
This bill explicitly includes diversion programs offering
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mental health treatment and services among the programs
eligible for funding under the program.
3)BSCC Background: "Chapter 36, Statutes of 2011 (SB 92,
Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review), established the BSCC,
effective July 1, 2012. From 2005 through 2012, the BSCC was
the Correction Standards Authority, a division of CDCR. Prior
to that it was the Board of Corrections, an independent state
department. The BSCC is responsible for administering various
criminal justice grant programs and ensuring compliance with
state and federal standards in the operation of local
correctional facilities. It is also responsible for providing
technical assistance to local authorities and collecting data
related to the outcomes of criminal justice policies and
practices." (LAO, The 2013-14 Budget: The Governor's
Criminal Justice Proposals, p. 44 (Feb. 15, 2013).)
4)Pretrial Diversion Programs: Diversion is the suspension of
criminal proceedings for a prescribed time period with certain
conditions. A defendant may not be required to admit guilt as
a prerequisite for placement in a pretrial diversion program.
If diversion is successfully completed, the criminal charges
are dismissed and the defendant may, with certain exceptions,
legally answer that he or she has never been arrested or
charged for the diverted offense. If diversion is not
successfully completed, the criminal proceedings resume,
however a hearing to terminate diversion is required.
5)Argument in Support: According to the Los Angeles District
Attorney, the sponsor of this bill, "[A]t the moment, the
sheriff is housing more than 300 inmates who are considered to
have severe to acute mental illnesses, even though they only
have dedicated bed space for 40 severe/acute mentally ill
inmates.
"In an attempt to address this situation, District Attorney
Lacey has embarked on an effort to create the largest mental
health criminal diversion program in the nations?."
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"One of the major obstacles to implementing the District
Attorney's comprehensive mental health diversion program is
funding. Our office believes that specifically authorizing
the BSCC to award MIOCR grants to counties for mental health
diversion programs will assist our efforts to establish the
largest mental health diversion program in the nation."
6)Prior Legislation:
a) SB 1054 (Steinberg), Chapter 436, Statutes of 2014,
provides grants to counties to develop and implement a
comprehensive, cost-effective strategy to reduce the rate
of recidivism and re-incarceration of mentally ill
offenders.
b) SB 92 (Budget and Fiscal Review Committee), Chapter 36,
Statutes of 2011, starting July 1, 2012, eliminated the
Corrections Standards Authority, and assigned its former
duties to the newly-created 12-member BSCC and assigns
additional duties, as provided.
REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:
Support
Los Angeles District Attorney (Sponsor)
Alameda County Board of Supervisors
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American Civil Liberties Union
American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy, California
Division
California Attorneys for Criminal Justice
California Catholic Conference of Bishops
California Council of Community Mental Health Agencies
California District Attorneys Association
California Medical Association
California Probation, Parole, and Correctional Association
California Professional Firefighters
California Public Defenders Association
California State Association of Counties
Chief Probation Officers of California
Contra Costa County Board of Supervisors
County Welfare Directors Association of California
Crime Victims Action Alliance
Disability Rights California
Fraternal Order of Police, California State Lodge
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
Mental Health America of California
National Alliance on Mental Illness
Sacramento County Deputy Sheriffs' Association
Santa Ana Police Officers Association
Opposition
None
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Analysis Prepared by:Sandy Uribe / PUB. S. / (916)
319-3744