BILL NUMBER: AB 2228	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY   MAY 4, 2000

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Aroner

                        FEBRUARY 24, 2000

   An act relating to mental health  , and making an
appropriation therefor .


	LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


   AB 2228, as amended, 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 establish the Juvenile Probation Assessment
Pilot Project to be administered by the State Department of Mental
Health in an unspecified number of counties, for 3 years.  The
project would require, in order to be eligible for the program, a
county probation department to develop a local plan for assessing the
service needs of minors in the county who have been arrested or
cited on charges based on criminal conduct.  The bill would
appropriate an unspecified sum to the State Department of Mental
Health for these purposes.  The bill would also  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   2/3  .  Appropriation:
 no   yes  .  Fiscal committee: 
no   yes  .  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)  
   (1)  The prevalence of mental disorders among young people in
juvenile justice facilities ranges from 50 percent to 75 percent.

   (d)  
   (2)  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)  
   (3)  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)  
   (4)  Young people involved with the juvenile justice system
have substantially higher rates of mental disorders than young people
in the general population.  
   (g)  
   (c)  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)  
   (d)  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.  
  SEC. 2.  There is hereby established the Juvenile Probation
Assessment Pilot Project to be administered by the State Department
of Mental Health in ____ counties.  The project shall be in effect
for three years.
   (b) In order to be eligible for this program, a county probation
department shall comply with guidelines set out by the department and
shall develop a local plan for assessing the service needs of minors
in the county who have been arrested or cited on charges that bring
them within the jurisdiction of the juvenile court pursuant to
Section 602 of the Welfare and Institutions Code.
   The local plan shall provide for the development and application
of uniform screening and needs assessment instruments and protocols
to be administered to minors coming within the provisions of this
section, including provisions for the uniform collection of
demographic information and the minor's history of substance abuse,
mental health, health, education, and information on the minor's
family history and offense history.  The screening and assessment
instruments shall be strength based and meet the minimum guidelines
established by the department.
   The local plan shall contain provisions for screening minors
within timeframes identified by the department, and shall make
provisions for referring minors for a more extensive assessment,
including evaluation by the county probation assessment team.
   The local plan shall include provisions for a county probation
assessment team that at a minimum includes representatives from the
county probation department which shall act as the lead, and from the
county mental health department, the county office of education, and
local substance abuse and health programs.  To the extent
practicable, the assessment team shall also involve county social
services, foster youth services, and other local programs serving
delinquent or at-risk youth.
   The local plan shall include protocols for the referral of minors
who have been screened and determined to need additional assessment.
These assessments shall be used for developing case plans or
referrals to service, to the extent that local resources are
available.  Referral to programs and services should be consistent
with the minor's individual needs, and the safety of the community.
   The local plan shall identify provisions for staff who administer
the screening and assessment instruments identified in this section,
and specify the prior education and training of those staff.  The
plan shall also contain provisions for the ongoing training of staff
involved in the program, including guidelines established by the
department.
   (c) The department, in consultation with the pilot counties and
other individuals or organizations with expert knowledge regarding
the assessment of juvenile offenders, shall develop minimum screening
and assessment instruments and protocols to be used by pilot
counties.  The department shall provide technical assistance to the
pilot counties, including training relative to quality screening and
assessment of minors.
   The department shall establish minimum standards, funding
schedules, procedures for the collection of data, and the review and
approval of a local plan developed pursuant to subdivision (b).
   County probation departments involved in this pilot project are
authorized to release information to the department regarding minors
involved in the program for purposes of oversight and evaluation.
   (d) County probation departments involved in this pilot project
shall use data collected through the screening and assessment process
to identify service needs of juveniles in the county, and work in
collaboration with the assessment team to develop a plan for
developing an appropriate continuum of treatment services.  They
shall also identify existing local, state, federal, and private
resources that may be used to fund these services.
   (e) The funding schedule developed by the department shall include
a set rate allocated to counties for screening and for assessing
minors identified in this section, and an allocation for staff
training administration.
   (f) The pilot project shall be evaluated independently to judge
the effectiveness of the screening and assessment protocol and
processes used to implement the programs, including whether the
assessments and screenings provide adequate background data on the
minor and the minor's family unit, improve achievement of case plan
goals, are judged useful to counties and services providers, and can
be applied with ease.
   (g) Upon satisfactory completion of the pilot project described in
this section and development of formal screening and assessment
processes and protocols, the department, in collaboration with the
evaluators, and participating counties shall integrate information
obtained from the pilot project and make it available to the
statewide chief probation officers organization.
  SEC. 3.  The sum of ____ dollars ($____) is hereby appropriated
from the General Fund to the State Department of Mental Health for
the purpose of administering the Juvenile Probation Assessment Pilot
Project as set forth in this act.  Of this sum, ____ percent may be
retained by the department for administration of the program and no
more than ____ percent shall be available for contracting with an
independent evaluator to assess data obtained from the pilot counties
and the overall success of the program.