BILL NUMBER: AB 2228 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 18, 2000
AMENDED IN SENATE AUGUST 8, 2000
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 , 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 3 counties, for 3 2 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 a statistically significant sample of the
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 appropriate $2,000,000 from the General
Fund 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 in
this regard .
Vote: majority 2/3 .
Appropriation: no 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 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.
for the development of an appropriate screening instrument and
assessment protocols to be employed using a sample of juvenile
offenders within pilot counties selected by the State Department of
Mental Health.
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 two 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 a
statistically significant sample of the 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 a statistically significant sample 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 program standards, procedures for
allocating funds to pilot counties , procedures for the
collection of data, and procedures for the review and approval of a
local plan developed pursuant to subdivision (c).
(3) (A) The department shall review the screening and assessment
protocols to ensure that they do not violate any rules or standards
related to the testing of human subjects and to ensure that they do
not lead to the inappropriate labeling of young persons who are
assessed.
(B) The screening and assessment protocols developed by the
department shall be appropriate for use with the population of young
persons in the juvenile justice system.
(C) The department may contract for the development of the
screening and assessment protocols with the assistance and
collaboration of an advisory committee consisting of interested
parties from the counties. In addition, the pilot counties shall
participate in the development of the screening instrument and the
assessment protocols.
(e) County probation departments involved in this pilot project
are authorized to release summary information to the department
relating to the Juvenile Probation Assessment Pilot Project,
regarding minors involved in the program for purposes of oversight
and evaluation. The information released shall not include any
information that would permit the identification of an individual
minor. If information regarding an individual minor is to be
included for any reason, such as for illustrative purposes, the name
of the minor and any other individual shall be redacted from the
information that is to be provided to the department prior to its
release.
(f) County probation departments involved in this pilot project
shall use data collected through the screening and assessment process
to identify the 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.
who undergo the screening or assessment.
(g) The funding schedule developed
allocation provided by the department shall include a
set rate allocated to counties to pilot counties shall
include an allotment for screening and for
assessing minors identified in this section , and
an allocation allotment for staff
training and administration .
(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 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 counties
and make it available to the statewide chief probation
officers organization. county probation officers,
county mental health directors, and county substance abuse directors.
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.
SEC. 3. The sum of two million dollars ($2,000,000) is hereby
appropriated from the General Fund to the State Department of Mental
Health for the purposes of the Juvenile Probation Assessment Pilot
Project as described in Section 2 of this act.
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