BILL NUMBER: SB 851 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY AUGUST 31, 2007
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY AUGUST 20, 2007
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY JUNE 27, 2007
AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 4, 2007
AMENDED IN SENATE MAY 2, 2007
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 18, 2007
AMENDED IN SENATE MARCH 27, 2007
INTRODUCED BY Senators Steinberg and Romero
( Principal coauthor: Assembly Member
Leno )
(Coauthors: Senators Alquist and Kuehl)
FEBRUARY 23, 2007
An act to add Article 3.5 (commencing with Section 2687)
to Chapter 4 of Title 1 of Part 3 of, and add Section
2687 to, to add Chapter 2.73 (commencing with Section 1001.130)
to Title 6 of Part 2 of, and to add and repeal Section 2687.1
of, the Penal Code, and to amend Sections 5806 and 5814 of the
Welfare and Institutions Code, relating to mentally ill offenders.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 851, as amended, Steinberg. Mentally ill offenders.
Existing law provides for the diversion of specified criminal
offenders in alternate sentencing and treatment programs.
This bill would authorize superior courts to develop and implement
mental health courts, as specified, which may operate as a preguilty
plea program and deferred entry of judgment program. This bill would
also allow parolees to participate in mental health courts, as
specified.
Because this bill would change the punishment for commission of
various crimes and would require local officials to provide a higher
level of service, this bill would impose a state-mandated local
program.
Existing law provides for the allocation of state funds to
counties for mental health programs.
This bill would make various statements of legislative findings
and intent regarding the need to provide mental health and related
services to parolees. This bill would require the Department of
Corrections and Rehabilitation to create a pilot program , to
the extent funding is available, to provide comprehensive
mental health and supportive services to 100 parolees with a
serious mental illness in each of 3 separate regions , as
specified. This bill would provide that the department may contract
with counties or private providers for these services.
This bill would require the Department of Corrections and
Rehabilitation in consultation with the State Department of Mental
Health to establish , to the extent funding is available, mental
health service standards that ensure that parolees
who have serious mental illness are identified, and services provided
to assist them to be able, upon release, to live independently,
work, and reach their potential as productive citizens , as
specified.
This bill would provide that funding, based on specified
criteria, at sufficient levels to ensure that each facility and
parolee center can provide each parolee served pursuant to these
provisions with the medically necessary mental health services shall
be provided, but that the portion of those costs of services that can
be paid for with other funds, including other mental health funds,
public and private insurance, and other local, state, and federal
funds shall not be covered any
portion of the costs of services not covered by any public or private
insurance to which the program participant is entitled shall be paid
for by the program .
This bill would require the Department of Corrections and
Rehabilitation to establish an advisory committee for the purpose of
providing advice regarding the development of the identification of
specific performance measures for evaluating the effectiveness of
programs. This bill would also require the
department , in consultation with the advisory committee,
to provide in a report to the Legislature, submitted on or
before May 1 of each year in which additional funding is provided, an
evaluation of the effectiveness of the strategies for parolees in
reducing homelessness, recidivism, involvement with local law
enforcement, and other measures identified by the department.
This bill would make other conforming changes.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local
agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement.
This bill would provide that with regard to certain mandates no
reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.
With regard to any other mandates, this bill would provide that,
if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains
costs so mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall
be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: yes.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. This act shall be known, and may be cited, as the
Corrections Mental Health Act of 2007.
SEC. 2. Chapter 2.73 (commencing with Section 1001.130) is added
to Title 6 of Part 2 of the Penal Code, to read:
CHAPTER 2.73. DIVERSION OF MENTALLY ILL OFFENDERS
1001.130. (a) Superior courts are hereby authorized to develop
and implement mental health courts.
(b) For purposes of this section, a mental health court has the
following objectives:
(1) Increase cooperation between the courts, criminal justice,
mental health, and substance abuse systems.
(2) Creation of a dedicated calendar or a locally developed
collaborative court-supervised mental health program or system that
contains the characteristics set out in subdivision (c) that will
lead to placement of as many mentally ill offenders, including those
with cooccurring disorders, in community treatment, as is feasible
and consistent with public safety.
(3) Improve access to necessary services and support.
(4) Reduce recidivism.
(5) Reduce the involvement of the mentally ill in the criminal
justice system and their time in jail by making mental health
services available in the least restrictive environment possible
while promoting public safety.
(c) For purposes of this section, a mental health court has the
following characteristics:
(1) Leadership by a superior court judicial officer assigned by
the presiding judge.
(2) Enhanced accountability by combining judicial supervision with
rehabilitation services that are rigorously monitored and focused on
recovery.
(3) A problem solving focus.
(4) A team approach to decisionmaking.
(5) Integration of social and treatment services.
(6) Judicial supervision of the treatment process, as appropriate.
(7) Community outreach efforts.
(8) Direct interaction between defendant and judicial officer.
(d) In developing a mental health court, the presiding judge or
his or her designee shall contact the county board of supervisors,
the county administrative officer, or his or her designee to convene
the county and court stakeholders and, through a collaborative
process with these stakeholders, develop a plan that is consistent
with this section. At least one stakeholder should be a criminal
justice client who has lived with mental illness. The plan shall
address at a minimum the following components:
(1) The method by which the mental health court will ensure that
the target population of defendants will be identified and referred
to the mental health court.
(2) The method for assessing defendants for serious mental illness
and cooccurring disorders.
(3) Eligibility criteria specifying what factors will make the
defendant eligible to participate in a mental health court, including
the amenability of the defendant to treatment and the facts of the
case, as well as prior criminal history and mental health and
substance abuse treatment history.
(4) The elements of the treatment and supervision programs.
(5) Standards for continuing participation in, and successful
completion of, the mental health court program.
(6) The need for the county mental health department and the drug
and alcohol department to provide initial and ongoing training for
designated staff on the nature of serious mental illness and on the
treatment and supportive services available in the community.
(7) The process to ensure defendants will receive the appropriate
level of treatment services, based on available resources, from
county and community mental health providers and other local
agencies.
(8) The process for developing or modifying a treatment plan for
each defendant, based on a formal assessment of the defendant's
mental health and substance abuse treatment needs. Participation in
the mental health court would require defendants to complete the
recommended treatment plan, and comply with any other terms and
conditions that will optimize the likelihood that the defendant will
complete the program.
(9) Process for referring cases to the mental health court.
(10) A defendant's voluntary entry into the mental health court,
the right of a defendant to withdraw from the mental health court,
and the process for explaining these rights to the defendant. A
defendant's participation requires the consent of the judicial
officer and the prosecutor.
(e) In developing a mental health program, each mental health
court team, lead by a judicial officer, should include, but is not
limited to, a judicial officer to preside over the court, prosecutor,
public defender, county mental health liaison, substance abuse
liaison, and probation officer. The mental health court team will
determine the frequency of ongoing reviews of the progress of the
offender in community treatment in order to ensure the offender
adheres to the treatment plan as recommended, remains in treatment,
and completes treatment.
(f) For purposes of this section, a mental health court may
operate as a preguilty plea program, wherein criminal proceedings are
suspended without a plea of guilty for designated defendants. If the
court finds that the defendant is not performing satisfactorily in
the assigned program, or that the defendant is not benefitting from
education, treatment, or rehabilitation, the court shall consider
modification of the treatment plan or reinstate the criminal charge
or charges. If the court finds that the defendant has engaged in
criminal conduct rendering him or her unsuitable for the preguilty
plea program, the court shall reinstate the criminal charge or
charges. If the defendant has performed satisfactorily during the
period of the preguilty plea program, at the end of that period, the
criminal charge or charges shall be dismissed and the provisions of
Section 1000.4 1203.4 shall apply.
(g) For purposes of this section, a mental health court may
operate as a deferred entry of judgment program. If the defendant is
found eligible, the prosecuting attorney shall file with the court a
declaration in writing or state for the record the grounds upon which
the determination is based, and shall make this information
available to the defendant and his or her attorney. This procedure is
intended to allow the court to set the hearing for deferred entry of
judgment at the arraignment. If the defendant is found ineligible
for deferred entry of judgment, the prosecuting attorney shall file
with the court a declaration in writing or state for the record the
grounds upon which the determination is based, and shall make this
information available to the defendant and his or her attorney. The
sole remedy of a defendant who is found ineligible for deferred entry
of judgment is a postconviction appeal. If the prosecuting attorney
determines that this section may be applicable to the defendant, he
or she shall advise the defendant and his or her attorney in writing
of that determination. This notification shall include the following:
(1) A full description of the procedures for deferred entry of
judgment.
(2) A general explanation of the roles and authorities of the
probation department, the prosecuting attorney, the program, and the
court in the process.
(3) A clear statement that in lieu of trial, the court may grant
deferred entry of judgment provided that the defendant pleads guilty
to each charge and waives time for the pronouncement of judgment, and
that upon the defendant's successful completion of a program the
positive recommendation of the program authority and the motion of
the prosecuting attorney, the court, or the probation department, the
court shall dismiss the charge or charges against the defendant and
the provisions of Section 1000.4 shall apply.
(4) A clear statement that upon failure of treatment or condition
under the program the prosecuting attorney or the probation
department or the court on its own may make a motion to the court for
entry of judgment and the court shall render a finding of guilty to
the charge or charges pled, enter judgment, and schedule a sentencing
hearing.
(5) An explanation of criminal record retention and disposition
resulting from participation in the deferred entry of judgment
program and the defendant's rights relative to answering questions
about his or her arrest and deferred entry of judgment following
successful completion of the program.
(h) For purposes of this section a mental health court may operate
as a postguilty plea program wherein the defendant has entered a
guilty plea or has been sentenced and is on probation. If the
defendant has performed satisfactorily during the period of the
postguilty plea program, at the end of that period, the criminal
charge or charges shall be dismissed and Section 1000.4 shall apply.
(i) Entry into the mental health court program is voluntary. Once
an individual chooses to enter, the defendant must comply with the
conditions of participation specified by the court.
(j) An individual's duration in the mental health court program
shall not exceed the maximum sentence plus probation or parole.
1001.133. (a) The Department of Corrections and
Rehabilitation may contract with superior courts and counties for the
assignment of a parolee with serious mental illness to a mental
health court program as an alternative to returning the parolee to
prison for a parole violation. A contract shall specify the nature
and extent of the treatment and supervision services provided by the
mental health court program, the cost per participant to be borne by
the department, and the standards for a parolee's continuing
participation in, and successful completion of, the mental health
court program. A parolee with a serious mental illness
who is under the dual jurisdiction of the courts and the
Board of Parole Hearings due to having committed a new offense while
on parole, or being on active probation during the term of parole,
may participate in a mental health court program.
(b) The department shall receive ongoing reviews from the mental
health court of the progress of a parolee in a mental health court
program in order to ensure that the parolee adheres to the treatment
plan as recommended, remains in treatment, and completes treatment.
(c)
(b) The Board of Parole Hearings may, as an alternative
to ordering a parolee returned to prison, suspend revocation pending
the parolee's successful completion of the mental health court
program. Participation in a mental health court program
shall not be construed to affect the parolee's term of parole.
program.
(d)
(c) If a parolee fails to successfully complete the
mental health court program, the parolee may be returned to
prison by the Board of Parole Hearings, as appropriate.
court program, the Board of Parole Hearings may revoke parole,
as appropriate.
(e) The highest priority for participation in a mental health
court program shall be given to parolees who have a case pending in
superior court.
(f) Consistent with Section 3056, parolees who participate in a
mental health court program shall remain under the legal custody of
the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation.
SEC. 3. Article 3.5 (commencing with Section
2687) is added to Chapter 4 of Title 1 of Part 3 of the Penal Code,
to read:
Article 3.5. Parolee Mental Health
2687. (a) A system of care for parolees with serious mental
SEC. 3 Section 2687 is added to the
Penal Code , to read:
2687. (a) A system of care
for parolees with serious mental illness results in the highest
benefit to the client, family, and society while ensuring that the
public sector meets its legal responsibility and fiscal liability at
the lowest possible cost.
(b) The underlying philosophy for these systems of care includes
the following:
(1) Mental health care is a basic human service.
(2) Seriously mentally ill parolees usually have multiple
disorders and disabling conditions.
(3) Seriously mentally ill parolees should be assigned a single
person or team to be responsible for all treatment, case management,
and support services.
(4) The client should be fully informed and volunteer for all
treatment provided, unless danger to self or others or grave
disability requires temporary involuntary treatment.
(5) Clients and families should directly participate in making
decisions about services and resource allocations that affect their
lives.
(6) Mental health services should be responsive to the unique
characteristics of people with serious mental illness including age,
gender, minority, and ethnic background, and the effect of multiple
disorders.
(7) Treatment, case management, and support services should be
designed to prevent inappropriate removal to more restrictive and
costly placements.
(8) Mental health systems of care shall have measurable goals and
be fully accountable by providing measures of client outcomes and
cost of services.
(9) State and county government agencies each have
responsibilities and fiscal liabilities for seriously mentally ill
parolees.
(c) A mental health system of care for parolees with serious
mental illness is vital in providing greater benefit to parolees with
serious mental illness at a lower cost than state prison in
California and should encompass all of the following:
(1) A comprehensive and coordinated system of care including
treatment, early intervention strategies, case management, and system
components required by parolees with serious mental illness.
(2) The recovery of persons with severe mental illness and their
financial means are important for all levels of government, business,
and the community.
(3) System of care services that ensure culturally competent care
for persons with serious mental illness in the most appropriate,
least restrictive level of care are necessary to achieve the desired
performance outcomes.
(d)
(b) The adult system of care model, begun through the
implementation of Chapter 617 of the Statutes of 1999 and expanded by
Chapter 518 of the Statutes of 2000, provides models for parolees
with serious mental illness that can meet the performance outcomes
required by the Legislature.
(e)
(c) Therefore, using the guidelines and principles
developed under the demonstration projects implemented under the
adult system of care model, it is the intent of the Legislature to
accomplish the following:
(1) Encourage the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation
Division of Adult Parole Operations to implement a system of care as
described in this article for the delivery of mental health services
to seriously mentally ill parolees.
(2) To promote a system of care accountability for performance
outcomes that enable parolees with serious mental illness to reduce
symptoms that impair their ability to live independently, work,
maintain community supports, care for their children, stay in good
health, not abuse drugs or alcohol, and not commit crimes.
(3) Provide funds for mental health services and related
medications, substance abuse services, supportive housing or other
housing assistance, vocational rehabilitation, and other nonmedical
programs necessary to stabilize mentally ill prisoners and parolees,
reduce the risk of being homeless, get them off the street and into
treatment and recovery, or to provide access to veterans'
services that will also provide for treatment and recovery.
ensure that eligible parolees requiring veterans' treatment and
recovery services outside of their geographic location will be given
consideration for those needed services on a case-by-case basis.
2687.1. The Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation
SEC. 4. Section 2687.1 is added to the Penal Code, to
read:
2687.1. (a) To the extent
funding is available, the Department of Corrections and
Rehabilitation shall create a pilot program to provide
comprehensive mental health and supportive services comparable to the
case management and services available under Section 5806 of the
Welfare and Institutions Code as set forth in this article
to 100 parolees with a serious mental illness in each of three
separate parole regions section . First priority
shall be given to parolees who, while incarcerated, were deemed part
of the Enhanced Outpatient Program who will likely become homeless
upon release. The second priority for funding shall be given to
remaining parolees who, while incarcerated, were in the Enhanced
Outpatient Program. The third priority for funding shall be given to
parolees who, while incarcerated, were in the Correctional Clinical
Case Management System who will likely become homeless upon release.
The fourth priority for funding shall be given to remaining parolees
who, while incarcerated, were in the Correctional Clinical Case
Management System. Parolees who will likely become homeless upon
release are individuals who will lack an identified fixed, regular,
and adequate nighttime residence upon release or whose only
identified nighttime residence includes a supervised publicly or
privately operated shelter designed to provide temporary living
accommodations or a public or private place not designed for, or
ordinarily used as, a regular sleeping accommodation for human
beings. Once enrolled, each parolee shall remain enrolled until
either opting out of the program with an agreed upon discharge plan
and follow-up plan, completing parole, or having parole revoked for
longer than a year.
2687.2. The Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation in
consultation with the State Department of Mental Health shall
establish service standards that ensure that prisoners with a serious
mental illness, as defined in paragraphs (2) and (3) of subdivisions
(b) of Section 5600.3 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, are
identified, and services are provided to assist them to be able, upon
release, to live independently, work, and reach their potential as
productive citizens. The department shall provide annual oversight of
services pursuant to this part for compliance with these standards.
These standards shall include, but are not limited to, all of the
following:
(a) A service planning and delivery process that is target
population based and includes the following:
(1) Determination of the number of clients to be served and the
programs and services that will be provided to meet their needs.
(2) Plans for services, including design of mental health
services, coordination and access to medications, psychiatric and
psychological services, substance abuse services, supportive housing
or other housing assistance for parolees, vocational rehabilitation,
and veterans' services. Plans shall also contain evaluation
strategies that shall consider cultural, linguistic, gender, age, and
special needs of minorities in the target populations. Provision
shall be made for staff with the cultural background and linguistic
skills necessary to remove barriers to mental health services due to
limited-English-speaking ability and cultural differences.
(3) Provisions for services to meet the needs of target population
clients who are physically disabled.
(4) Provision for services to meet the special needs of elder
adults.
(5) Provision for family support and consultation services,
parenting support and consultation services, and peer support or
self-help group support, if appropriate for the individual.
(6) Provision for services to be client-directed and that employ
psychosocial rehabilitation and recovery principles.
(7) Provision for psychiatric and psychological services that are
integrated with other services and for psychiatric and psychological
collaboration in overall service planning.
(8) Provision for services specifically directed to seriously
mentally ill young adults 25 years of age or younger who are at
significant risk of becoming homeless.
(9) Services reflecting special needs of women from diverse
cultural backgrounds, including supportive housing that accepts
children, personal services coordinator, therapeutic treatment, and
substance abuse treatment programs that address gender specific
trauma and abuse in the lives of persons with serious mental illness,
and vocational rehabilitation programs that offer job training
programs free of gender bias and sensitive to the needs of women.
(10) Provision for housing for parolees that is immediate,
transitional, or permanent.
(b) Each client shall have a clearly designated mental health
personal services coordinator who may be part of a multidisciplinary
treatment team who is responsible for providing or assuring needed
services. Responsibilities include complete assessment of the client'
s needs, development of the client's personal services plan, linkage
with all appropriate community services, monitoring of the quality
and followthrough of services, and necessary advocacy to ensure each
client receives those services that are agreed to in the personal
services plan. Each client shall participate in the development of
his or her personal services plan, and responsible staff shall
consult with the designated conservator, if one has been appointed,
and, with the consent of the client, consult with the family and
other significant persons as appropriate.
(c) The individual personal services plan shall ensure that
members of the target population involved in the system of care
receive age, gender, and culturally appropriate services, or
appropriate services based on any characteristic listed or defined in
Section 11135 of the Government Code to the extent feasible, that
are designed to enable recipients as parolees to achieve the
following goals:
(1) Live in the most independent, least restrictive housing
feasible in the local community, and, for clients with children, to
live in a supportive housing environment that strives for
reunification with their children or assists clients in maintaining
custody of their children as is appropriate.
(2) Engage in the highest level of work or productive activity
appropriate to their abilities and experience.
(3) Create and maintain a support system consisting of friends,
family, and participation in community activities.
(4) Access an appropriate level of academic education or
vocational training.
(5) Obtain an adequate income.
(6) Self-manage their serious mental illness and exert as much
control as possible over both the day-to-day and long-term decisions
that affect their lives.
(7) Access necessary physical health care and maintain the best
possible physical health.
(8) Reduce or eliminate serious antisocial or criminal behavior
and thereby reduce or eliminate their contact with the criminal
justice system.
(9) Reduce or eliminate the distress caused by the symptoms of
mental illness.
(10) Have freedom from dangerous addictive substances.
(d) The individual personal services plan shall describe the
service array that meets the requirements of subdivision (c), and to
the extent applicable to the individual, the requirements of
subdivision (a).
2687.3. Services shall be available to parolees who have serious
mental illness who meet the eligibility criteria in subdivisions (b)
and (c) of Section 5600.3 of the Welfare and Institutions Code.
(a) Funding shall be provided at sufficient levels to ensure that
each facility and parolee center can provide each parolee served
pursuant to this part with the medically necessary mental health
services, medically necessary medications to treat serious mental
illnesses, alcohol and drug services, transportation, supportive
housing and other housing assistance, vocational rehabilitation and
supported employment services, money management assistance for
accessing other health care and obtaining federal income and housing
support, accessing veterans' services, stipends, and other incentives
to attract and retain sufficient numbers of qualified professionals
as necessary to provide the necessary levels of these services.
(b) This program shall not rely upon any other state or county
funding not expressly authorized. This program, however, shall pay
for that portion not covered by Medi-Cal, Medicare, SSI, or any other
entitlement to the individual being served.
(c) The Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation Division of
Adult Parole Operations shall provide for services in accordance with
the system of care for parolees who meet the eligibility criteria in
subdivisions (b) and (c) of Section 5600.3 of the Welfare and
Institutions Code.
(d) Planning for services shall be consistent with the following
philosophies, principles, and practices:
(1) To promote concepts key to the recovery for individuals who
have serious mental illness: hope, personal empowerment, respect,
social connections,
self-responsibility, and self-determination.
(2) To promote consumer operated services as a way to support
recovery.
(3) To reflect the cultural, ethnic, and racial diversity of
mental health consumers.
(4) To plan for each consumer's individual needs.
(b) To the extent funding is available, the Department of
Corrections and Rehabilitation in consultation with the State
Department of Mental Health shall develop service standards for
prisoners with a serious mental illness, as defined in paragraphs (2)
and (3) of subdivision (b) of Section 5600.3 of the Welfare and
Institutions Code.
(c) This program shall not rely upon any county funding not
expressly authorized. This program, however, shall pay for that
portion not covered by Medi-Cal, Medicare, SSI, or any other
entitlement to the individual being served.
(e) In order to develop comprehensive case management plans
consistent with the Mental Health Services Continuum Program, the
department
(d) The department shall develop
comprehensive case management plans and shall establish prison
in-reach protocols that include collaboration and cooperation with
service providers who are likely to serve program participants in the
designated counties. Prior to the release of each program
participant, the department shall work with each participant, the
relevant integrated service provider
designated mental health personal services coordinator , the
relevant housing provider, and other relevant providers to develop a
discharge plan that includes:
(1) Stable and affordable housing that is appropriate to serve the
individual's needs, including permanent supportive housing where
necessary. In the event that permanent affordable housing is not
available, a participant may be placed in transitional supportive
housing, and the integrated service provider selected
pursuant to subdivision (d) designated mental health
personal services coordinator shall develop a plan to place the
participant in permanent supportive housing before the end of the
parole period.
(2) Job placement or application for federal or state benefit
entitlements including, but not limited to, Social Security
Disability Insurance, Supplemental Security Income, veterans'
benefits, CalWORKs, Medicaid, food stamps or general relief with the
goal of income or benefits being available immediately upon release.
(3) Application for federally, state, or locally funded housing
assistance programs.
(4) Obtainment of state-issued identification.
2687.4. (a) The Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation
shall establish an advisory committee for the purpose of providing
advice regarding the development of the identification of specific
performance measures for evaluating the effectiveness of programs.
The committee shall review evaluation reports and make findings on
evidence-based best practices and recommendations. At not less than
one meeting annually, the advisory committee shall provide to the
department written comments on the performance of each of the
programs.
(b) The committee shall include, but not be limited to,
representatives from state, county, and community veterans' services
and disabled veterans outreach programs, supportive housing and other
housing assistance programs, law enforcement, county mental health
and private providers of local mental health services and mental
health outreach services, the Board of Corrections, the State
Department of Alcohol and Drug Programs, local substance abuse
services providers, the Department of Rehabilitation, providers of
local employment services, the State Department of Social Services,
the Department of Housing and Community Development, a service
provider to transition youth, the United Advocates for Children of
California, the California Mental Health Advocates for Children and
Youth, the Mental Health Association of California, National Alliance
on Mental Illness (NAMI) California, the California Network of
Mental Health Clients, the Mental Health Planning Council, a mental
health court judicial officer, and other appropriate entities.
(c) In consultation with the advisory committee the department
(e) The department shall report
to the Legislature on or before May 1 of each year in which
additional funding is provided, and shall evaluate, at a minimum, the
effectiveness of the strategies for parolees in reducing
homelessness, recidivism, involvement with local law enforcement, and
other measures identified by the department. The evaluation shall
include for each program funded in the current fiscal year as much of
the following as available information permits:
(1) The number of persons served, and of those, the number who
receive extensive community mental health services.
(2) The number of persons who are able to maintain housing,
including the type of housing and whether it is emergency,
transitional, or permanent housing, as defined by the department.
(3) (A) The amount of funding spent on each type of housing.
(B) Other local, state, or federal funds or programs used to house
clients.
(4) The number of persons with contacts with local law enforcement
and the extent to which local and state incarceration has been
reduced or avoided.
(5) The number of persons participating in employment service
programs including competitive employment.
(6) The amount of hospitalization that has been reduced or
avoided.
(7) The extent to which veterans identified through these programs'
outreach are receiving federally funded veterans' services for which
they are eligible.
(8) The extent to which programs funded for three or more years
are making a measurable and significant difference on the street, in
hospitals, and in jails, as compared to other programs and in
previous years.
(d)
(f) For purposes of this section, the department may
receive technical assistance from the State Department of Mental
Health.
2687.5.
(g) The department may contract with
counties or private providers for the provision of any of the
services described in this article section
. Methods to contract for services shall promote prompt and
flexible use of funds, consistent with the scope of services for
which the department has contracted with each provider.
(h) This section shall remain in effect only until January 1,
2013, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted statute
deletes or extends that date.
SEC. 4. SEC. 5. Section 5806 of the
Welfare and Institutions Code is amended to read:
5806. The State Department of Mental Health shall establish
service standards that ensure that members of the target population
are identified, and services provided to assist them to live
independently, work, and reach their potential as productive
citizens. The department shall provide annual oversight of grants
issued pursuant to this part for compliance with these standards.
These standards shall include, but are not limited to, all of the
following:
(a) A service planning and delivery process that is target
population based and includes the following:
(1) Determination of the numbers of clients to be served and the
programs and services that will be provided to meet their needs. The
local director of mental health shall consult with the sheriff, the
police chief, the probation officer, the mental health board,
contract agencies, and family, client, ethnic and citizen
constituency groups as determined by the director.
(2) Plans for services, including outreach to individuals who will
be eligible for services under this section after successfully
completing parole, mental health courts, and families whose severely
mentally ill adult is living with them, design of mental health
services, coordination and access to medications, psychiatric and
psychological services, substance abuse services, supportive housing
or other housing assistance, vocational rehabilitation, and veterans'
services. Plans shall also contain evaluation strategies, that shall
consider cultural, linguistic, gender, age, and special needs of
minorities in the target populations. Provision shall be made for
staff with the cultural background and linguistic skills necessary to
remove barriers to mental health services due to
limited-English-speaking ability and cultural differences. Recipients
of outreach services may include families, the public, primary care
physicians, police, sheriffs, judges, and others who are likely to
come into contact with individuals who may be suffering from an
untreated severe mental illness who would be likely to become
homeless if the illness continued to be untreated for a substantial
period of time. Outreach to adults may include adults voluntarily or
involuntarily hospitalized as a result of a severe mental illness.
(3) Provisions for services to meet the needs of target population
clients who are physically disabled.
(4) Provision for services to meet the special needs of older
adults.
(5) Provision for family support and consultation services,
parenting support and consultation services, and peer support or
self-help group support, where appropriate for the individual.
(6) Provision for services to be client-directed and that employ
psychosocial rehabilitation and recovery principles.
(7) Provision for psychiatric and psychological services that are
integrated with other services and for psychiatric and psychological
collaboration in overall service planning.
(8) Provision for services specifically directed to seriously
mentally ill young adults 25 years of age or younger who are homeless
or at significant risk of becoming homeless. These provisions may
include continuation of services that would still be received through
other funds had eligibility not been terminated due to age.
(9) Services reflecting special needs of women from diverse
cultural backgrounds, including supportive housing that accepts
children, personal services coordinator therapeutic treatment, and
substance abuse treatment programs that address gender specific
trauma and abuse in the lives of persons with mental illness, and
vocational rehabilitation programs that offer job training programs
free of gender bias and sensitive to the needs of women.
(10) Provision for housing for clients that is immediate,
transitional, permanent, or all of these.
(11) Provision for clients who have been suffering from an
untreated severe mental illness for less than one year, and who do
not require the full range of services but are at risk of becoming
homeless unless a comprehensive individual and family support
services plan is implemented. These clients shall be served in a
manner that is designed to meet their needs.
(b) Each client shall have a clearly designated mental health
personal services coordinator who may be part of a multidisciplinary
treatment team who is responsible for providing or assuring needed
services. Responsibilities include complete assessment of the client'
s needs, development of the client's personal services plan, linkage
with all appropriate community services, monitoring of the quality
and followthrough of services, and necessary advocacy to ensure each
client receives those services which are agreed to in the personal
services plan. Each client shall participate in the development of
his or her personal services plan, and responsible staff shall
consult with the designated conservator, if one has been appointed,
and, with the consent of the client, consult with the family and
other significant persons as appropriate.
(c) The individual personal services plan shall ensure that
members of the target population involved in the system of care
receive age, gender, and culturally appropriate services, or
appropriate services based on any characteristic listed or defined in
Section 11135 of the Government Code to the extent feasible, that
are designed to enable recipients to:
(1) Live in the most independent, least restrictive housing
feasible in the local community, and, for clients with children, to
live in a supportive housing environment that strives for
reunification with their children or assists clients in maintaining
custody of their children as is appropriate.
(2) Engage in the highest level of work or productive activity
appropriate to their abilities and experience.
(3) Create and maintain a support system consisting of friends,
family, and participation in community activities.
(4) Access an appropriate level of academic education or
vocational training.
(5) Obtain an adequate income.
(6) Self-manage their illness and exert as much control as
possible over both the day-to-day and long-term decisions which
affect their lives.
(7) Access necessary physical health care and maintain the best
possible physical health.
(8) Reduce or eliminate serious antisocial or criminal behavior
and thereby reduce or eliminate their contact with the criminal
justice system.
(9) Reduce or eliminate the distress caused by the symptoms of
mental illness.
(10) Have freedom from dangerous addictive substances.
(d) The individual personal services plan shall describe the
service array that meets the requirements of subdivision (c), and to
the extent applicable to the individual, the requirements of
subdivision (a).
SEC. 5. SEC. 6. Section 5814 of the
Welfare and Institutions Code is amended to read:
5814. (a) (1) This part shall be implemented only to the extent
that funds are appropriated for purposes of this part. To the extent
that funds are made available, the first priority shall go
to maintain funding for the existing programs that meet adult system
of care contract goals. The second priority for funding shall be
given to counties with a high incidence of persons who are severely
mentally ill and homeless or at risk of homelessness, and meet the
criteria developed pursuant to paragraphs (3) and (4). The third
priority for funding shall be for those who are seriously mentally
ill and are discharged from a jail or have successfully completed
parole. priorities shall include, but not be limited
to, maintaining funding for the existing programs that meet adult
system of care contract goals, counties with a high incidence of
persons who are severely mentally ill and homeless or who are at risk
of becoming homeless and meet the criteria developed pursuant to
paragraphs (3) and (4) of this subdivision, and those who are
discharged from a jail or have successfully completed parole.
(2) The director shall establish a methodology for awarding grants
under this part consistent with the legislative intent expressed in
Section 5802, and in consultation with the advisory committee
established in this subdivision.
(3) (A) The director shall establish an advisory committee for the
purpose of providing advice regarding the development of criteria
for the award of grants, and the identification of specific
performance measures for evaluating the effectiveness of grants. The
committee shall review evaluation reports and make findings on
evidence-based best practices and recommendations for grant
conditions. At not less than one meeting annually, the advisory
committee shall provide to the director written comments on the
performance of each of the county programs. Upon request by the
department, each participating county that is the subject of a
comment shall provide a written response to the comment. The
department shall comment on each of these responses at a subsequent
meeting.
(B) The committee shall include, but not be limited to,
representatives from state, county, and community veterans' services
and disabled veterans outreach programs, supportive housing and other
housing assistance programs, law enforcement, county mental health
and private providers of local mental health services and mental
health outreach services, the Board of Corrections, the State
Department of Alcohol and Drug Programs, local substance abuse
services providers, the Department of Rehabilitation, providers of
local employment services, the State Department of Social Services,
the Department of Housing and Community Development, a service
provider to transition youth, the United Advocates for Children of
California, the California Mental Health Advocates for Children and
Youth, the Mental Health Association of California, National Alliance
on Mental Illness (NAMI) California, the California Network of
Mental Health Clients, the Mental Health Planning Council, a mental
health court judicial officer, and other appropriate entities.
(4) The criteria for the award of grants shall include, but not be
limited to, all of the following:
(A) A description of a comprehensive strategic plan for providing
outreach, prevention, intervention, and evaluation in a cost
appropriate manner corresponding to the criteria specified in
subdivision (c).
(B) A description of the local population to be served, ability to
administer an effective service program, and the degree to which
local agencies and advocates will support and collaborate with
program efforts.
(C) A description of efforts to maximize the use of other state,
federal, and local funds or services that can support and enhance the
effectiveness of these programs.
(5) In order to reduce the cost of providing supportive housing
for clients, counties that receive a grant pursuant to this part
after January 1, 2004, shall enter into contracts with sponsors of
supportive housing projects to the greatest extent possible.
Participating counties are encouraged to commit a portion of their
grants to rental assistance for a specified number of housing units
in exchange for the counties' clients having the right of first
refusal to rent the assisted units.
(b) In each year in which additional funding is provided by the
annual Budget Act, the department shall establish programs that offer
individual counties sufficient funds to comprehensively serve
severely mentally ill adults who are homeless, recently released from
a county jail or the state prison, or others who are untreated,
unstable, and at significant risk of incarceration or homelessness
unless treatment is provided to them, and who are severely mentally
ill adults. For purposes of this subdivision, "severely mentally ill
adults" are those individuals described in subdivision (b) of Section
5600.3. In consultation with the advisory committee established
pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (a), the department shall
report to the Legislature on or before May 1 of each year in which
additional funding is provided, and shall evaluate, at a minimum, the
effectiveness of the strategies in providing successful outreach and
reducing homelessness, involvement with local law enforcement, and
other measures identified by the department. The evaluation shall
include for each program funded in the current fiscal year as much of
the following as available information permits:
(1) The number of persons served, and of those, the number who
receive extensive community mental health services.
(2) The number of persons who are able to maintain housing,
including the type of housing and whether it is emergency,
transitional, or permanent housing, as defined by the department.
(3) (A) The amount of grant funding spent on each type of housing.
(B) Other local, state, or federal funds or programs used to house
clients.
(4) The number of persons with contacts with local law enforcement
and the extent to which local and state incarceration has been
reduced or avoided.
(5) The number of persons participating in employment service
programs including competitive employment.
(6) The number of persons contacted in outreach efforts who appear
to be severely mentally ill, as described in Section 5600.3, who
have refused treatment after completion of all applicable outreach
measures.
(7) The amount of hospitalization that has been reduced or
avoided.
(8) The extent to which veterans identified through these programs'
outreach are receiving federally funded veterans' services for which
they are eligible.
(9) The extent to which programs funded for three or more years
are making a measurable and significant difference on the street, in
hospitals, and in jails, as compared to other counties or as compared
to those counties in previous years.
(10) For those who have been enrolled in this program for at least
two years and who were enrolled in Medi-Cal prior to, and at the
time they were enrolled in, this program, a comparison of their
Medi-Cal hospitalizations and other Medi-Cal costs for the two years
prior to enrollment and the two years after enrollment in this
program.
(11) The number of persons served who were and were not receiving
Medi-Cal benefits in the 12-month period prior to enrollment and, to
the extent possible, the number of emergency room visits and other
medical costs for those not enrolled in Medi-Cal in the prior
12-month period.
(c) To the extent that state savings associated with providing
integrated services for the mentally ill are quantified, it is the
intent of the Legislature to capture those savings in order to
provide integrated services to additional adults.
(d) Each project shall include outreach and service grants in
accordance with a contract between the state and approved counties
that reflects the number of anticipated contacts with people who are
homeless or at risk of homelessness, and the number of those who are
severely mentally ill and who are likely to be successfully referred
for treatment and will remain in treatment as necessary.
(e) All counties that receive funding shall be subject to specific
terms and conditions of oversight and training which shall be
developed by the department, in consultation with the advisory
committee.
(f) (1) As used in this part, "receiving extensive mental health
services" means having a personal services coordinator, as described
in subdivision (b) of Section 5806, and having an individual personal
service plan, as described in subdivision (c) of Section 5806.
(2) The funding provided pursuant to this part shall be sufficient
to provide mental health services, medically necessary medications
to treat severe mental illnesses, alcohol and drug services,
transportation, supportive housing and other housing assistance,
vocational rehabilitation and supported employment services, money
management assistance for accessing other health care and obtaining
federal income and housing support, accessing veterans' services,
stipends, and other incentives to attract and retain sufficient
numbers of qualified professionals as necessary to provide the
necessary levels of these services. These grants shall, however, pay
for only that portion of the costs of those services not otherwise
provided by federal funds or other state funds.
(3) Methods used by counties to contract for services pursuant to
paragraph (2) shall promote prompt and flexible use of funds,
consistent with the scope of services for which the county has
contracted with each provider.
(g) Contracts awarded pursuant to this part shall be exempt from
the Public Contract Code and the state administrative manual and
shall not be subject to the approval of the Department of General
Services.
(h) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, funds awarded to
counties pursuant to this part and Part 4 (commencing with Section
5850) shall not require a local match in funds.
SEC. 7. The program established pursuant to
Sections 2687 and 2687.1 of the Penal Code should be paid for, in
part, with four million dollars ($4,000,000) of the money
appropriated pursuant to subdivision (m) of Provision 16 of Item
5225-001-0001 of Section 2.00 of Chapter 171 of the Statutes of 2007.
SEC. 6. SEC. 8. No reimbursement is
required by this act pursuant to Section 6 of Article XIII B of the
California Constitution for certain costs that may be incurred by a
local agency or school district because, in that regard, this act
creates a new crime or infraction, eliminates a crime or infraction,
or changes the penalty for a crime or infraction, within the meaning
of Section 17556 of the Government Code, or changes the definition of
a crime within the meaning of Section 6 of Article XIII B of the
California Constitution.
However, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that this
act contains other costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to
local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made
pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of
Title 2 of the Government Code.