BILL NUMBER: AB 2611 ENROLLED
BILL TEXT
PASSED THE SENATE AUGUST 22, 2012
PASSED THE ASSEMBLY AUGUST 27, 2012
AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 20, 2012
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Butler
FEBRUARY 24, 2012
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 treatment
courts.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2611, Butler. Veterans treatment courts.
Existing law provides for the diversion of specified criminal
offenders in alternate sentencing and treatment programs. Existing
law authorizes a court to order a defendant who is a member of the
United States military who may be suffering from sexual trauma,
traumatic brain injury, post-traumatic stress disorder, substance
abuse, or mental health problems as a result of that service into a
local, state, federal, or private nonprofit treatment program for a
period not to exceed that which the defendant would have served in
state prison or county jail, provided the defendant agrees to
participate in the program and the court determines that an
appropriate treatment program exists.
This bill would authorize superior courts to develop and implement
veterans treatment 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. The bill would declare the intent of the Legislature that,
where there are statutory requirements for certain education or
counseling programs to be included in the terms of probation, the
components of those counseling terms be incorporated into the
treatment programs that are designed to treat the underlying
psychological disorders rather than requiring them in lieu of the
psychological treatments.
The bill would require, to the maximum extent possible, that
veterans who are participating in a veterans treatment court or who
are eligible for diversion, as specified, be referred to the federal
Department of Veterans Affairs for the purpose of obtaining federal
benefits. The bill would encourage veterans treatment courts to
maintain information and statistics on the success rate of their
court for use by the Legislature and the Judicial Council of
California, and would authorize all superior courts to apply for
federal grants to establish new veterans treatment courts.
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 treatment courts, which are highly beneficial to
the people of California due to greatly reduced rates of recidivism
compared to nontreatment court approaches involving offenders.
Participation by a county shall be voluntary.
(b) For purposes of this section, a veterans treatment court may
have some or all of the following objectives:
(1) Increase cooperation between the courts, criminal justice,
veterans and their families, available social services, and substance
abuse programs.
(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 services for veterans
available in the least restrictive environment possible while
promoting public safety.
(6) Assist offenders and their family members in connecting with
local services that may help in securing counseling, employment,
housing, and financial assistance, so that offenders can return to
being productive members of society.
(c) For purposes of this section, a veterans treatment court may
have 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
trauma recovery as required by Section 1170.9.
(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, the judicial officer,
and others as deemed necessary by the judicial officer.
(d) In developing a veterans treatment court, the county and court
stakeholders through a collaborative process may develop a plan that
uses this section as a guideline. It is recommended that 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). The plan should consider
incorporating as many of the following components as feasible:
(1) The method by which the veterans treatment court ensures that
the target population of defendants is identified and referred to the
veterans treatment court.
(2) The method for assessing defendants who are veterans for
serious mental illness and co-occurring disorders.
(3) Eligibility criteria prescribed by Section 1170.9 specifying
what factors make the defendant eligible to participate in the
veterans treatment 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 treatment court program.
(6) The need for all service providers and stakeholders to receive
initial and ongoing training from county departments and community
stakeholders with specialized knowledge about veterans' treatment and
service needs, such as the county health department, county veterans
officers, county drug and alcohol department, and federal Department
of Veterans Affairs partners, and the need 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 with emphasis on maximizing federally
funded services from the federal Department of Veterans Affairs,
other federal agencies, and the Department of Veterans Affairs, as
well as the county and other local mental health and substance abuse
treatment services 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 treatment court
shall require defendants to complete the recommended treatment plan
and comply with other terms and conditions that optimize the
likelihood that the defendant will complete the program.
(9) The process for referring cases to the veterans treatment
court.
(10) A defendant's voluntary entry into the veterans treatment
court, the right of a defendant to withdraw from the veterans
treatment court, and the process for explaining these rights to the
defendant.
(11) A structure for delivery of peer-to-peer mentoring offenders.
(12) Integrated drug and alcohol testing and treatment for
substance abuse.
(13) A graduated system of incentives and sanctions to motivate
offenders to better adhere to treatment and successfully complete the
program.
(e) In developing a veterans program, each veterans treatment
court team, led by a judicial officer, may, to the extent feasible,
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, probation
officer, peer monitoring coordinator or supervisor, and a federal
Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) representative to assist the
court with screening veterans treatment court candidates for
eligibility and suitability for VA funded programs. The veterans
treatment 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 the purposes of this section, it is the intent of the
Legislature that a veterans treatment court judge use a variety of
options for carrying out the goal to ensure long-term public safety
by maximizing the opportunities for veterans with psychological war
wounds to get timely and appropriate treatment. It is the intent of
the Legislature in enacting this section to augment rather than
replace other sections within this code. The judicial officer has a
variety of tools available to reach these goals and shall exercise
discretion and use all tools available to ensure public safety and
assist defendants to successfully complete appropriate treatment for
the problems underlying their offenses. Where there are statutory
requirements for certain education or counseling programs to be
included in the terms of probation, for example, first conviction
programs for driving-under-the-influence offenders under Section
23152 of the Vehicle Code or domestic violence offenders under
Section 273.5 of the Penal Code, the components of these
offense-specific counseling terms shall be incorporated into the
treatment programs that are designed to treat the underlying
psychological disorders rather than required in lieu of the
psychological treatments. This holistic approach ensures that the
priority underlying offense is treated and that offense-specific
education and counseling aims are met.
(g) To the maximum extent possible, veterans who are participating
in a veterans treatment court or other therapeutic court, and those
veterans who are eligible for diversion under Section 1170.9, shall
be referred to the federal Department of Veterans Affairs for the
purpose of obtaining federal benefits for which they are eligible.
1001.96. (a) All veterans treatment courts are encouraged to
maintain information and statistics on the success rate of their
court for use by the Legislature and the Judicial Council of
California.
(b) Superior courts are hereby authorized to apply for federal
grants, including grants available from the United States Department
of Justice, in order to establish a new veterans treatment court.