BILL ANALYSIS
AB 710
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Date of Hearing: May 13, 2009
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Kevin De Leon, Chair
AB 710 (Yamada) - As Amended: April 22, 2009
Policy Committee: Veterans
AffairsVote: 8-0
Health 18-0
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
No Reimbursable:
SUMMARY
This bill requires the Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA) to
apply for a grant from the federal Substance Abuse and Mental
Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) in order to fund
community-based organizations (CBOs) providing substance abuse
and mental health services to veterans, including treatment for
post traumatic stress syndrome (PTSD) and military sexual
trauma, as defined. This bill also:
1)Makes any federal grant monies received subject to
appropriation by the Legislature and deposits these funds in
the Veteran's Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Fund.
2)Requires DVA to develop a process to certify CBOs as eligible
for receipt of the grant funds.
3)Requires CBOs receiving grant funds to report on the programs
and services supported by those funds.
4)Allows counties lacking CBOs serving veterans to apply
directly for the grants.
FISCAL EFFECT
Minor absorbable costs for the grant application, and to the
extent grant funds are received on a sustained basis, annual
costs of about $100,000 for one position to certify eligible
CBOs and administer the grants. Presumably a portion of these
costs would be covered by the federal grant funds.
AB 710
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COMMENTS
1)Background . Based on information from a similar bill last
year (see below), mental health care and substance abuse
treatment capacity within the federal Veterans Administration
(VA) has declined. During the past decade, the VA has embarked
on a major institutional shift from inpatient to outpatient
care. Despite a congressional mandate to "maintain capacity to
provide specialized treatment and rehabilitative needs of
disabled veterans (including mental illness)," there has been
a steady reduction in specialized inpatient services without a
corresponding increase in adequate outpatient services.
For example, in 1995, the Los Angeles VA hospital psychiatric
wards could accommodate 450 inpatients, but by 2005 that
number had dropped to just 105 and the hospital had closed its
psychiatric emergency room. During this same time period, the
number of patients who received inpatient or outpatient mental
health treatment at LA VA facilities increased by 28%.
Many veterans now access health care through Community-Based
Outpatient Clinics (CBOCs). In 2003, the VA reported that 258
of its 616 CBOCs provided no mental health visits at all. In
another 78, mental health accounted for less than 5% of
overall services provided.
2)Purpose . This bill requires the DVA to seek SAMHSA grant
funds in order to assist CBOs in targeting those funds toward
veteran mental health and substance abuse services. Last year,
government and nonprofit entities in California received about
$390 million in SAMHSA grants, with about $62 million of this
total being discretionary mental health and substance abuse
treatment monies.
3)Prior Legislation . Last year, AB 2828 (Salas), which was
almost identical to this bill, was summarily vetoed by the
governor without a stated objection. AB 2828 passed the
Assembly 78-0.
AB 3083 (Veterans Affairs)/Chapter 591 of 2008 requires
counties to provide mental health services to California
veterans in need of services and who meet existing eligibility
requirements, to the extent services are available to other
AB 710
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adults, and expands the definition of a serious mental
disorder to include PTSD and bipolar disorder for purposes of
qualifying target populations for county mental health
services.
Analysis Prepared by : Chuck Nicol / APPR. / (916) 319-2081