BILL NUMBER: AB 2228 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 28, 2000
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 26, 2000
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 16, 2000
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 4, 2000
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Aroner
(Coauthors: Assembly Members Bock, Dutra, Jackson, and
Strom-Martin)
FEBRUARY 24, 2000
An act relating to mental health.
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 3 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 require the department to evaluate or
contract for an evaluation of the pilot project and to submit the
evaluation to specified committees of the Legislature on or before
March 1, 2003. Implementation of the project would be
contingent on an appropriation in the annual Budget Act. 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. Appropriation: no. 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 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 three 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.
(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.
(2) The screening of minors within timeframes identified by the
department, and the referral of minors for a more extensive
assessment, including evaluation by the county probation assessment
team.
(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.
(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.
(5) Staff to administer the screening and assessment instruments
identified in this section, and 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.
(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.
(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 (c).
(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.
(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.
(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.
(h) The pilot project shall be evaluated independently
(h) The department shall evaluate or contract for an evaluation of
the pilot project in order 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. The department shall submit the evaluation to the
appropriate fiscal and policy committees of the Legislature on or
before March 1, 2003.
(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. Implementation of the Juvenile Probation Assessment Pilot
Project, as described in Section 2 of this act, shall be contingent
on an appropriation therefor in the annual Budget Act.