BILL ANALYSIS �
AB 181
Page 1
Date of Hearing: May 11, 2011
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Felipe Fuentes, Chair
AB 181 (Portantino and Beall) - As Amended: April 28, 2011
Policy Committee: Human
ServicesVote:4 - 0
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program:
No Reimbursable:
SUMMARY
This bill:
1)Establishes the Foster Youth Mental Health Bill of Rights
granting foster youth specified rights, such as the right to:
a) Be evaluated and treated by a mental health professional
who is culturally sensitive and qualified to treat
individuals of that age and symptomology;
b) Interview a therapist before starting treatment, and for
children under age 10, to participate with caregivers in
interviewing therapists prior to commencing treatment;
c) Request a new therapist at any time upon the
availability of a new provider once treatment commences;
d) Continue services with the same provider if that
provider is available;
e) Refuse mental health treatment at any time unless the
individual poses an immediate danger to him or herself or
others;
f) Be presented with all available services including, but
not limited to behavioral, holistic or natural approaches,
mentoring, peer counseling, therapy, and medication;
g) Be provided developmentally appropriate information on
drug interactions;
h) Receive developmentally appropriate information on
potential short- or long-term side effects of prescribed
psychotropic medications;
i) Notification, for youth and caregivers, if a prescribed
psychotropic medication has not been tested on youth of a
similar age group;
j) Refuse or discontinue the administration of psychotropic
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medications;
2)Requires the Office of the Foster Care Ombudsperson to
disseminate information related to the Foster Youth Mental
Health Bill of Rights described above.
FISCAL EFFECT
1)Because this bill establishes rights to treatment and services
that may not be contained in current law or current programs,
it could result in significant cost pressure potentially in
excess of several hundred thousand dollars for county mental
health programs.
2) One-time costs to the Department of Social Services of about
$150,000 to develop standardized, age-appropriate information
to explain the Foster Youth Mental Health Bill of Rights to
foster children.
3)Minor annual GF costs, likely in the range of $100,000, for
county child protection agencies to provide copies of the
Youth Mental Health Bill of Rights and for the time associated
with ensuring that foster children understand those rights.
COMMENTS
1)Rationale . This bill creates a foster youth mental health bill
of rights to ensure that foster children are aware of their
right to be provided with or refuse mental health care and
treatment. The sponsor of this bill, the California Youth
Connection, contend that this bill is necessary to highlight
the specialized and complex set of laws and rights governing a
foster child's mental wellbeing. Current law includes a Foster
Youth Bill of Rights that is widely distributed. The author
envisions that this new bill of rights will be a companion to
the existing one.
2)Suggestions and Concerns . The County Mental Health Directors
Association (CMHDA) has outlined a series of suggestions and
concerns about this legislation. Their concern is that as
written this legislation creates new, unfunded mental health
mandates and may be providing information that is not quite
clear or accurate. For example, as currently written, the bill
of rights states that foster youth are allowed to interview
therapists prior to starting treatment. Interviews between
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therapists and prospective clients are not billable under the
Medi Cal program. Therefore, this time would need to be paid
for with GF.
3)Related Legislation . SB 518 (Migden) Chapter 649, Statutes of
2007 established the Youth Bill of Rights pertaining to the
rights of youth detained in a juvenile or adult facility.
AB 458 (Chu) Chapter 331, Statutes of 2003 prohibited
discrimination in the California foster care system on the
basis of actual or perceived race, ethnic group
identification, ancestry, national origin, color, religion,
sex, sexual orientation, gender identity, mental or physical
disability, or HIV status.
AB 899 (Liu) Chapter 683, Statutes of 2001 established the
Foster Youth Bill of Rights.
Analysis Prepared by : Julie Salley-Gray / APPR. / (916)
319-2081