BILL NUMBER: AB 1925 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 28, 2010
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 20, 2010
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Salas
FEBRUARY 16, 2010
An act to add Chapter 2.97 (commencing with Section 1001.95) to
Title 6 of Part 2 of the Penal Code, relating to veterans courts.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 1925, as amended, Salas. Veterans courts.
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
veterans courts for eligible veterans of the United States military
with the objective of, among other things, creation of a dedicated
calendar or a locally developed collaborative court-supervised
veterans mental health program or system that leads to the placement
of as many mentally ill offenders who are veterans of the United
States military, including those with post-traumatic stress disorder,
traumatic brain injury, military sexual trauma, substance abuse, or
any mental health problem stemming from military service, in
community treatment as is feasible and consistent with public safety.
The bill would provide that county participation is voluntary.
Because this bill would require local officials to provide a
higher level of service, this bill would impose a state-mandated
local program.
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, if the Commission on State Mandates
determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state,
reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these
statutory provisions.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: yes no .
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Chapter 2.97 (commencing with Section 1001.95) is added
to Title 6 of Part 2 of the Penal Code, to read:
CHAPTER 2.97. DIVERSION OF VETERANS
1001.95. (a) Superior courts are hereby authorized to develop and
implement veterans courts. Participation by a county shall be
voluntary, but a county that chooses to participate shall conform its
parti cipation to this chapter.
(b) For purposes of this section, a veterans court shall have the
following objectives:
(1) Increase cooperation between the courts, criminal justice,
veterans, and substance abuse systems.
(2) Creation of a dedicated calendar or a locally developed
collaborative court-supervised veterans 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 who are
veterans of the United States military, including those with
post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain injury, military
sexual trauma, substance abuse, or any mental health problem stemming
from United States military service, 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 veterans in the criminal justice
system and time in jail by making mental health service for veterans
available in the least restrictive environment possible while
promoting public safety.
(c) For purposes of this section, a veterans court shall have all
of 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 veterans court, the presiding judge or his or
her designee shall contact the county board of supervisors, the
county administrative officer, or their designee to convene , if
a county chooses to participate, 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 is a
veteran who has lived with the experience of mental illness as
described in paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) of this section. The
plan shall address at a minimum all of the following components:
(1) The method by which the veterans court ensures that the target
population of defendants are identified and referred to the veterans
court.
(2) The method for assessing defendants who are veterans for
serious mental illness and co-occurring disorders.
(3) Eligibility criteria specifying what factors make the
defendant eligible to participate in the veterans court, including
service in the United States military, the amenability of the
defendant to treatment and the facts of the case, as well as prior
criminal history, United States military service 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 veterans 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, provided that the county and other local
agencies shall be obligated to provide mental health treatment
services only to the extent that resources are available for that
purpose, as described in paragraph (5) of subdivision (b) of Section
5600.3 of the Welfare and Institutions Code.
(8) The process for developing or modifying a treatment plan for
each defendant, based on a formal assessment of the defendant's
mental health, United States military service history, and substance
abuse treatment needs. Participation in the veterans court shall
require defendants to complete the recommended treatment plan, and
comply with any other terms and conditions that optimizes the
likelihood that the defendant completes the program.
(9) The process for referring cases to the veterans court.
(10) A defendant's voluntary entry into the veterans court, the
right of a defendant to withdraw from the veterans court, and the
process for explaining these rights to the defendant.
(e) In developing a veterans program, each veterans court team,
led by a judicial officer, shall include, but not be limited to, a
judicial officer to preside over the court, prosecutor, public
defender, county mental health liaison, substance abuse liaison,
county veterans' service officer, and probation officer. The veterans
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.
SEC. 2. If the Commission on State Mandates
determines that this act contains 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.