Amended in Senate April 7, 2016

Amended in Senate March 17, 2016

Senate Bill No. 1013

Introduced by Senator Beall

February 11, 2016

An act to amend Sections 2985, 2985.1, 2985.2, 2985.3, 2985.4, and 2985.5 of the Penal Code, relating to parolees.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SB 1013, as amended, Beall. Mentally ill parolees: housing.

(1) Existing law authorizes the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to obtain day treatment, and to contract for crisis care services, for parolees with mental health problems, and requires the department to provide a supportive housing program that provides wraparound services to mentally ill parolees at risk of homelessness using funding appropriated for that purpose. Existing law provides that an inmate or parolee is eligible for participation if he or she has a serious mental disorder, as defined, has been assigned a release date from state prison, and is likely to become homeless upon release or is currently a homeless parolee. Existing law requires providers to offer various services, including housing location services and rental subsidies. Existing law requires a service provider to comply with specified requirements, including, among others, that the service provider has prior experience working with county or regional mental health programs.

This bill would require a service provider to also demonstrate an existing relationship with a supportive housing provider. The bill would specify that a program participant is not required to receive other services for mentally ill parolees as a condition of eligibility to receive rental assistance through the program. The bill would require a service provider to offer rental subsidies that are equal to or greater than fair market rent, as defined. The bill would also prohibit the department or a service provider from limiting the duration that a program participant may receive rental assistance through the program, except by the length of the person’s parole.

(2) Existing law requires a service provider to identify and locate supportive housing opportunities prior to a program participant’s release from state prison or as quickly upon release from state prison as possible, or as quickly as possible when a program participant is identified during parole. Existing law requires a service provider to report specified information to the department, including the number of program participants served and the outcomes for program participants, including the number of participants who returned to state prison.

This bill would require a service provider to identify and locate supportive housing opportunities no later than 9 months after the program participant has agreed to participate in the program. The bill would require that the housing located provide the program participant with a lease where he or she has all of the rights and responsibilities of tenancy. The bill would require a service provider to use a portion of the program payments received to provide interim housing, as defined. The bill would also require a service provider to report to the department the percentage of program participants currently living in permanent housing and the number who are arrested and residing in county jail. The bill would also make technical, nonsubstantive, and clarifying changes.

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.  

The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:

(a) The Legislature passed, and the Governor signed, Senate
Bill 1021 in 2012, which included direction to the Department of
Corrections and Rehabilitation to create the Supportive Housing
Program for Mentally Ill Parolees, pursuant to Section 3073 of the
Penal Code. The program was intended to use funds budgeted for
the Integrated Services for Mentally Ill Parolees (ISMIP) program
to serve the purposes outlined in Senate Bill 1021.

(b) Since 2012, the budget has not referred to the program by
name and funds have not been used for their legislatively intended
purposes.

(c) It is the intent of the Legislature to strengthen the ISMIP
program to ensure that the department promotes the evidence-based
begin delete wrap-around end delete begin insert wraparound end insert services, including rental subsidies in
an amount adequate to allow mentally ill parolees experiencing
homelessness or at risk of experiencing homelessness upon release
from prison to obtain and maintain housing stability during and
after the term of parole, thereby reducing recidivism among
parolees with a history of homelessness.

(d) It is the intent of the Legislature that contracts the department
enters into under the ISMIP program require contractors to target
resources to parolees experiencing homelessness or offenders begin delete a end delete begin insert at end insert
risk of homelessness upon release. The contracts shall emphasize
housing permanency and stability over food, clothing, and drop-in
or day center services and shall require contractors to use a
substantial portion of the contracted payment to provide rental
assistance to obtain housing that is independent and integrated into
the community.

(e) It is the intent of the Legislature that the Department of
Corrections and Rehabilitation include the changes made in this
act into contracts renewed or entered into for the ISMIP program
on and after January 1, 2017.

SEC. 2.  

Section 2985 of the Penal Code is amended to read:

2985.  

It is the intent of the Legislature in enacting this article
to provide evidence-based, comprehensive mental health and
supportive services, including housing subsidies, to parolees who
suffer from mental illness and are either homeless or at risk of
homelessness, in order to successfully reintegrate the parolees into
the community, increase public safety, and reduce state costs of
recidivism. It is further the intent of the Legislature to supplement
existing parole outpatient clinic services by providing services to
individuals who suffer from a severe mental illness, as defined in
Section 5600.3 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, and who
require services that cannot be provided by parole outpatient
clinics, including services provided pursuant to Section 5806 of
the Welfare and Institutions Code.

SEC. 3.  

Section 2985.1 of the Penal Code is amended to read:

2985.1.  

For purposes of this article, the following definitions
shall apply:

(a) “Bridge rental assistance” means rental assistance paid to
participating landlords while the service provider and program
participant seek permanent rental assistance that allows the program
participant to remain in the same housing or, when feasible, allows
the program participant to incur the full responsibility of paying
rent through employment or benefits entitlement once parole ends.

(b) “Department” means the Department of Corrections and
Rehabilitation.

(c) “Fair market rent” means the rent, including the cost of
utilities other than telephone, as established by the begin delete federal end delete begin insert United
States end insert Department of Housing and Urban Development, for units
of varying sizes, as determined by the number of bedrooms, that
must be paid in the market area to rent privately owned, existing,
decent, safe, and sanitary rental housing of a modest nature with
suitable amenities.

(d) “Homelessness” has the same meaning as in Part 91 of Title
24 of the Code of Federal Regulations.

(e) “Integrated Services for Mentally Ill Parolees program” or
“ISMIP program” means the program of supportive services and
housing support provided by this article.

(f) “Interim housing” means a temporary residence in which a
program participant resides, for a period not to exceed nine months,
while waiting to move into permanent housing. “Interim housing”
may include housing that is paid for using motel vouchers or
housing in which a program participant resides for the purpose of
receiving recuperative care.

(g) “Likely to become homeless upon release” or “at risk of
homelessness” means the individual has a history of homelessness
and he or begin delete he end delete begin insert she end insert satisfies both of the following criteria:

(1) The individual has not identified a fixed, regular, and
adequate nighttime residence for release.

(2) The individual’s only identified nighttime residence for
release includes a supervised, publicly or privately operated shelter
designed to provide temporary living accommodations, or a public
or private place not designed for, or not ordinarily used as, regular
sleeping accommodations for human beings.

(h) “Supportive housing” has the same meaning set forth in
subdivision (b) of Section 50675.14 of the Health and Safety Code,
and that, in addition, is decent, safe, and affordable.

SEC. 4.  

Section 2985.2 of the Penal Code is amended to read:

2985.2.  

(a) Pursuant to Section 3073, the department shall
provide a supportive housing program that provides wraparound
services to mentally ill parolees who are either homeless or at risk
of homelessness using funding appropriated by the Legislature for
the ISMIP program.

(b) A service provider participating in this program shall comply
with all of the following:

(1) Provide services and treatment based on begin delete best practices. end delete

begin insert evidence-based practices. end insert

(2) Demonstrate that the program reduces recidivism and
homelessness among program participants.

(3)  Have prior experience working with county or regional
mental health programs.

(4) Demonstrate existing relationships with a supportive housing
provider.

(c) (1) An inmate or parolee is eligible to participate in this
program if all of the following apply:

(A) He or she has a serious mental disorder as defined in Section
5600.3 of the Welfare and Institutions Code and as identified by
the department, and he or she has a history of mental health
treatment in the prison’s mental health services delivery system
or in a parole outpatient clinic.

(B) The inmate or parolee voluntarily chooses to participate.

(C) Either of the following applies:

(i) He or she has been assigned a date of release within 60 to
180 days and is likely to become homeless upon release.

(ii) He or she is currently a homeless parolee.

(2) First priority for the program shall be given to the lowest
functioning offenders in prison, as identified by the department,
who are likely to become homeless upon release.

(d) A parolee is not required to receive other ISMIP services as
a condition of eligibility to receive rental assistance pursuant to
this article.

SEC. 5.  

Section 2985.3 of the Penal Code is amended to read:

2985.3.  

(a) A service provider shall offer services, in
accordance with Section 5806 of the Welfare and Institutions Code,
to obtain and maintain health and housing stability while the
program participant is on parole, to enable the program participant
to comply with the terms of parole, and to augment mental health
services provided to the program participant. The services shall
be offered to a program participant in his or her home, or shall be
made as easily accessible to the program participant as possible
and shall include, but are not limited to, all of the following:

(1) Case management services.

(2) Parole discharge planning.

(3) Housing location services, and, if needed, move-in cost
assistance.

(4) Rental subsidies that are equal to or greater than fair market
rent.

(5) Linkage to other services, such as vocational, educational,
and employment services, as needed.

(6) Benefit entitlement application and appeal assistance.

(7) Transportation assistance to obtain services and health care
needed.

(8) Assistance obtaining appropriate identification.

(b) For a program participant identified prior to release from
state prison, upon the service provider’s receipt of referral and in
collaboration with the parole agent and, if appropriate, staff, the
intake coordinator or case manager of the service provider shall,
when possible:

(1) Receive all prerelease assessments and discharge plans.

(2) Draft a plan for the program participant’s transition into
housing that serves the program participant’s needs and that
demonstrates a clear transition pathway to permanent, independent,
and affordable housing. Housing options shall include permanent
supportive housing and interim housing, as necessary, while the
program participant awaits placement into supportive housing.

(3) Engage the program participant to actively participate in
services upon release.

(4) Assist in obtaining identification for the program participant,
if necessary.

(5) Assist in applying for any benefits for which the program
participant is eligible.

(c) (1) To facilitate the transition of a program participant
identified prior to release into the community and a program
participant identified during parole into supportive housing, a
service provider shall, on an ongoing basis, but not less than
quarterly, assess each program participant’s needs and include in
each program participant’s assessment a plan to foster
independence and continued residence in the same permanent
housing when his or her parole is complete.

(2) Upon referral to the service provider, the service provider
shall work to transition a program participant from the department’s
rental assistance to other mainstream rental assistance benefits if
those benefits are necessary to enable the program participant to
remain in stable housing, and shall prioritize transitioning the
program participant to these benefits in a manner that allows the
program participant to remain housed, when possible, without
moving. Mainstream rental assistance benefits may include, but
are not limited to, federal Housing Choice Voucher assistance,
Department of Housing and Urban Development-Veterans Affairs
Supportive Housing vouchers, or other rental assistance programs.

(3) The program participant’s parole discharge plan and the
assessments shall consider the need for, and prioritize linkage to,
county mental health services and housing opportunities that are
supported by the Mental Health Services Act, the Mental Health
Services Act Housing Program, or other funding sources that
finance permanent supportive housing for persons with mental
illness, so that the program participant may continue to achieve
all recovery goals of the program and remain permanently housed
when his or her parole is complete.

(4) The department and service providers shall not limit the
bridge rental assistance made available to the program participant,
except to the term of the program participant’s parole. The program
participant shall be allowed to remain in the same housing after
the bridge rental assistance ends, so long as he or she complies
with the terms of the lease.

SEC. 6.  

Section 2985.4 of the Penal Code is amended to read:

2985.4.  

(a) A service provider shall identify and locate
supportive housing opportunities for a program participant prior
to his or her release from state prison or as quickly upon his or her
release from state prison as possible, or as quickly as possible after
the program participant is identified during parole, but in no case
later than nine months after the program participant agrees to
participate in the ISMIP program.

(b) Housing identified pursuant to subdivision (a) shall satisfy
all of the following:

(1) The housing is located in an apartment building, single-room
occupancy buildings, townhouses, or single-family homes,
including rent-subsidized apartments leased in the open market or
set aside within privately owned buildings.

(2) The housing is not subject to community care licensing
requirements or is exempt from licensing under Section 1504.5 of
the Health and Safety Code.

(3) A program participant living in supportive housing shall
have a lease and be subject to the rights and responsibilities of
tenancy.

(c) A service provider shall use a portion of the ISMIP payments
received from the department to identify and offer the program
participant interim housing while the program participant is waiting
to obtain appropriate permanent rental housing and to complete
documentation and paperwork needed to move the program
participant into the rental housing.

(d) If a service provider operates in a county that utilizes
homeless coordinated assessment and entry systems, the service
provider shall offer ISMIP program payments and housing
assistance to parolees who qualify for the ISMIP program through
those systems.

(e) A service provider may use ISMIP program payments to
support a housing specialist position to work with lessors,
affordable and for-profit housing developers, public housing
authorities, and other housing providers to identify and secure
affordable rental housing for program participants.

SEC. 7.  

Section 2985.5 of the Penal Code is amended to read:

2985.5.  

(a) A service provider shall report to the department
regarding the intended outcomes of the program, including all of
the following:

(1) The number of program participants served.

(2) The types of services that were provided to program
participants.

(3) The outcomes for program participants, including the number
who are living independently, the number who remain in or moved
to permanent housing, the number who ceased to participate in the
program, the number who returned to state prison, and the number
who were arrested and are residing in county jail.

(4) The number of program participants who successfully
completed parole and transitioned to county mental health
programs.

(5) The percentage of program participants currently living in
permanent housing.

(b) The department shall prepare an analysis of the costs of the
supportive housing program in comparison to the cost savings to
the state as a result of reduced recidivism rates by program
participants using the information provided pursuant to subdivision
(a). This analysis shall exclude from consideration any federal
funds provided for services while the program participant is on
parole in order to ensure that the analysis accurately reflects only
the costs to the state for the services provided to program
participants.

(c) The department shall annually submit, on or before February
1, the information collected pursuant to subdivision (a) and the
analysis prepared pursuant to subdivision (b) to the chairs of the
Joint Legislative Budget Committee, the Senate Committee on
Budget and Fiscal Review, the Assembly Committee on Budget,
the Senate and Assembly Committees on Public Safety, the Senate
Committee on Transportation and Housing, and the Assembly
Committee on Housing and Community Development.