BILL ANALYSIS
SB 1742
Page 1
SENATE THIRD READING
SB 1742 (Machado)
As Amended May 1, 2006
Majority vote
SENATE VOTE :23-11
PUBLIC SAFETY 6-0 APPROPRIATIONS 13-5
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|Ayes:|Leno, La Suer, Cohn, |Ayes:|Chu, Bass, Berg, |
| |Dymally, Goldberg, | |Calderon, |
| |Spitzer | |De La Torre, Karnette, |
| | | |Klehs, Leno, Nation, |
| | | |Oropeza, Ridley-Thomas, |
| | | |Saldana, Yee |
| | | | |
|-----+--------------------------+-----+--------------------------|
| | |Nays:|Sharon Runner, Emmerson, |
| | | |Haynes, Nakanishi, |
| | | |Walters |
| | | | |
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SUMMARY : Requires the Division of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) to
only accept a person committed to it if DJJ has adequate staff
and programs to provide care, and deletes provisions of law that
require DJJ to accept a person who is borderline psychiatric,
borderline mentally deficient, a specified sexual deviate, or
suffering from a behavior disorder.
EXISTING LAW :
1)Requires DJJ to accept a person committed to DJJ if DJJ
believes the person can be materially benefited by its
reformatory and educational discipline, and if DJJ has
adequate facilities to provide care.
2)Requires DJJ to accept a person committed to DJJ, provided the
Director certifies that staff and institutions are available,
and if the person is borderline psychiatric, borderline
mentally deficient, a specified sexual deviate, or a person
suffering from a behavior disorder.
3)Requires the Director of DJJ and the Director of the
SB 1742
Page 2
Department of Mental Health (DMH) to confer and establish
policy at least annually with respect to the types of cases
which should be the responsibility of each department.
4)Provides that when a court commits a ward to DJJ the court
must send DJJ a summary of all the facts in possession of the
court, covering the history of the ward committed and a
statement of the ward's mental and physical condition.
FISCAL EFFECT : According to the Assembly Appropriations
Committee analysis, negligible state costs.
COMMENTS : According to the author, "WIC Section 736 requires
the Youth Authority (now DJJ) to accept a person committed to it
if it believes the person can be materially benefited by its
reformatory and educational discipline, and if it has adequate
facilities to provide care. Additionally, the Youth Authority
must accept a person who is 'borderline psychiatric' or
'mentally deficient', a 'sex deviate', or a person that suffers
from a 'primary behavior disorder'.
"This section contains archaic language that is over 40 years
old and is no longer used by mental health professionals or
public policy makers in determining mental health treatment
needs for youth committed to the state juvenile justice system.
Additionally, by specifically delineating which type of mental
health cases may be accepted by the DJJ, the language may
inadvertently restrict DJJ's ability to accept, or offer
treatment to, youth with other mental health or treatment needs.
Finally, certain individuals may have mental health needs
beyond the ability of DJJ to provide successful treatment; the
language in WIC Section 736 may hinder the State of California's
ability to appropriately place such an individual in another
treatment program.
"This bill deletes the references to obsolete mental health
terminology, and instead provides that DJJ shall only accept
offenders if it has adequate staff and programs to provide
necessary care. Additionally, the bill continues to require
that the Deputy Director of DJJ and the Director of DMH to
jointly develop policies to determine which cases would best be
served by the respective departments."
Please see the policy committee analysis for full discussion of
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this bill.
Analysis Prepared by : Gregory Pagan / PUB. S. / (916)
319-3744
FN: 0015902