BILL NUMBER: AB 2228	AMENDED
	BILL TEXT

	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY   MAY 16, 2000
	AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY   MAY 4, 2000

INTRODUCED BY   Assembly Member Aroner
    (Coauthors:  Assembly Members Bock, Dutra, and Strom-Martin)


                        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:  2/3.  Appropriation:  yes.  Fiscal committee:  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.
   (1) The prevalence of mental disorders among young people in
juvenile justice facilities ranges from 50  percent 
to 75 percent.
   (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.
   (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.
   (4) Young people involved with the juvenile justice system have
substantially higher rates of mental disorders than young people in
the general population.
   (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.
   (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.   (a)  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 

   (c) The local plan shall provide for all of the following:
   (1) 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 

   (2) The screening of  minors within timeframes identified by
the department, and  shall make provisions for referring
  the referral of  minors for a more extensive
assessment, including evaluation by the county probation assessment
team.  
   The local plan shall include provisions for a county 

   (3) 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
 
   (4) 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 

   (5) Staff to  administer the screening and assessment
instruments identified in this section, and  specify
  minimum requirements for  the prior education and
training of those staff  members  .  The plan shall also
contain provisions for the ongoing training of staff involved in the
program, including guidelines established by the department.

   (c)  
   (d) (1)  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  
   (2) The  department shall establish minimum standards,
funding schedules, procedures for the collection of data, and 
procedures for  the review and approval of a local plan
developed pursuant to subdivision  (b)   (c)
 .  
   County  
   (e) 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)  
   (f)  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)  
   (g)  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  and  administration.  
   (f)  
   (h)  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)  
   (i)  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.