BILL ANALYSIS �
SENATE COMMITTEE ON VETERANS AFFAIRS
LOU CORREA, CHAIRMAN
Bill No: SB 1258
Author: Wolk and Correa
Version: As Proposed
Hearing Date: April 10, 2012
Fiscal: Yes
Consultant: Donald E. Wilson
SUBJECT OF BILL
Monitoring outcomes for veterans
PROPOSED LAW
This bill will begin a process that will allow the
California Department of Veterans Affairs (CDVA) to gain
access to data that will allow it to find long-term
solutions to issues facing veterans.
This bill requires CDVA to
a) "Establish a system for monitoring outcomes for
veterans."
b) Report those outcomes.
c) Shall ensure confidentiality of the information in
its possession.
d) Allows the department to establish advisory bodies
as it sees fit.
e) Requires the department to report to the legislature
by March 1, 2015 the
progress made in establishing the new system.
f) Requires that by March 1, 2016 an annual report on
any outcomes identified
by the department.
EXISTING LAW AND BACKGROUND
1. The Federal Veterans Administration (VA) is backlogged
over 1 million cases in admitting veterans into its system.
This means that often veterans are not treated in the
meantime.
2. As a result that means veterans with mental health
issues are going untreated by the Federal Government.
3. In May of 2011 the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals labeled
VA's treatment of veterans with mental health issues as
"unchecked incompetence" and then ordered a complete
overhaul of the VA mental health system.
4. Veterans represent a disproportionate percentage of
those who commit suicide. 18 veterans per day are
committing suicide, and VA has said it identifies 1,000
suicide attempts per month.
5. It is believed that 1 out of 5 veterans returning from
Iraq will have Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
6. There is no state system for mental health treatment:
mental health is a local issue. Since there is not
necessarily consistent treatment at the county level, then
there is no guarantee that a veteran who is not receiving
treatment from the VA will be treated locally. Treatment
depends on the county mental health plan.
7. Veterans represent a disproportionate percentage of
those who are unemployed. Testimony before the Senate
Veterans Affairs Committee by the California Military
Department in 2011 put unemployment at over 20% for the
Army National Guard veterans and 28% for Air National Guard
veterans.
8. State agencies have been reluctant to share, and in
some cases even to gather, statistics about veterans within
their purview. AB 716 of 2009 (Huber) would have allowed
CDVA to enter into MOUs with state agencies to collect this
data. However, Governor Schwarzenegger vetoed the bill as
unnecessary.
9. Because of hurdles that veterans now face and because
information is not shared, a new Interagency Council on
Veterans now exists by executive order of the new governor.
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COMMENT
1. This analysis is written "as proposed" due to some
technical amendments suggested by involved departments.
The amendments do not change the policy of the bill.
2. This bill addresses the kind of data gathering problems
as illustrated by AB 1223 (Assembly Veterans Affairs
Committee) which was made a two-year bill because of as a
lack of urgency in providing data from the Public
Assistance Reporting Information Program (PARIS) pilot
program. That data has still not been released.
SUPPORT
American Federation of State, County and Municipal
Employees (AFSCME)
OPPOSE
None received
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