BILL NUMBER: AB 2228	INTRODUCED
	BILL TEXT


INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Aroner

                        FEBRUARY 24, 2000

   An act relating to mental health.


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 2228, as introduced, Aroner.  Juvenile offenders: mental health
screening.
   Existing law, the Arnold-Kennick Juvenile Court Law, provides for
the adjudication of a minor as a ward of the juvenile court on the
basis of criminal or certain noncriminal behavior.
   Existing law also directs county mental health departments that
receive specified funding to provide mental health screening,
assessment, and other services to the extent resources are available
to children served by county social services and probation
departments.
   This bill would express the intent of the Legislature to enact
legislation to provide appropriate screening and assessment of
juvenile offenders to detect mental or emotional disorders, and to
provide a continuum of appropriate mental health services for
juvenile offenders at the local level.
   Vote:  majority.  Appropriation:  no.  Fiscal committee:  no.
State-mandated local program:  no.


THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:


  SECTION 1.  The Legislature hereby finds and declares all of the
following:
   (a) The federal Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency
Prevention estimates that 60 percent of young people in the juvenile
system suffer from behavioral, mental, or emotional disorders.
   (b) The National Mental Health Association reports that, according
to data obtained from site visits to a nationally representative
sample of 95 public and private juvenile facilities, 73 percent of
the young people in those facilities reported mental health problems,
and 57 percent reported that they had been previously treated for
mental health problems.
   (c) The prevalence of mental disorders among young people in
juvenile justice facilities ranges from 50 percent to 75 percent.
   (d) From one-quarter to one-third of the young people suffered
from anxiety or mood disorders, nearly one-third of the girls
suffered from posttraumatic stress syndrome, and up to 19 percent of
the young people may be suicidal.
   (e) Young people with learning disabilities or serious emotional
problems are arrested at higher rates than other young people who do
not suffer from those disabilities.
   (f) Young people involved with the juvenile justice system have
substantially higher rates of mental disorders than young people in
the general population.
   (g) Many young people involved in the juvenile justice system in
California suffer from mental health problems, substance abuse
problems, and other problems that frequently are undiagnosed or
untreated due to the lack of proper screening and assessment or the
unavailability of appropriate treatment resources.
   (h) The Legislature recognizes the value of comprehensive
strength-based assessments and coordination of appropriate services
for young people and their families, including intensive followup to
ensure the availability and accessibility of services.
   Therefore, it is the intent of the Legislature to enact
legislation that will provide appropriate screening and assessment of
juvenile offenders to detect mental or emotional disorders, and to
provide a continuum of appropriate mental health services for
juvenile offenders at the local level.