BILL ANALYSIS
SENATE COMMITTEE ON Public Safety
Senator John Vasconcellos, Chair A
1999-2000 Regular Session B
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AB 2228 (Aroner) 8
As Amended May 26, 2000
Hearing date: June 20, 2000
Uncodified Law
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JUVENILE JUSTICE :
JUVENILE PROBATION ASSESSMENT PILOT PROJECT
HISTORY
Source: Chief Probation Officers of California
Prior Legislation: None
Support: AFSCME; Commonweal Juvenile Justice Program; California
Healthcare Association; L.A. County Probation Officers
Union
Opposition:None known
Assembly Floor Vote: Ayes 58 - Noes 19
KEY ISSUE
SHOULD THE "JUVENILE PROBATION ASSESSMENT PILOT PROJECT" BE
ESTABLISHED, AS SPECIFIED?
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PURPOSE
The purpose of this bill is to establish the Juvenile Probation
Assessment Pilot Project, as specified.
Current law generally requires county probation departments to
provide care and supervision to delinquent children who are or
may become wards of the juvenile court. (Welfare and
Institutions Code 730 et seq.)
This bill would establish the "Juvenile Probation Assessment
Pilot Project," with the following characteristics:
Administration; 3 Counties, 3 Years
The pilot would be administered by the State Department of
Mental Health ("DMH").
The pilot would be conducted in three counties for three
years.
DMH would be required to establish minimum standards, funding
schedules, procedures for the collection of data, and
procedures for the review and approval of local plans, as
specified.
DMH would be required to develop a funding schedule that
includes "a set rate allocated to counties for screening and
for assessing minors identified in this section, and an
allocation for staff training and administration."
DMH would be required to "integrate information obtained from
the pilot project and make it available to the statewide chief
probation officers organization" upon the pilot's completion,
as specified.
Eligibility
To be eligible for this program, county probation departments
would be required to comply with guidelines set out by DMH,
and to develop a local plan for assessing the service needs of
delinquent minors in the county who have been arrested or
cited for criminal charges, as specified.
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Local plans would be required to provide all of the following:
(1) uniform screening and needs assessment instruments and
protocols, as specified;
(2) identified timing for screenings and referrals, as
specified;
(3) a county probation assessment team, with enumerated
minimum and multi-disciplinary representation requirements;
(4) referral protocols for screened minors who need
additional assessments, as specified;
(5) staff for screening and assessment, and minimum
requirements for the prior education and training of those staff
members, as specified.
Screening and Assessment Instruments and Protocols; Technical
DMH Assistance
DMH would be required to develop minimum screening and
assessment instruments and protocols to be used by pilot
counties in consultation with the pilot counties and other
expert individuals or organizations, as specified.
DMH would be required to provide technical assistance to the
pilot counties, including training.
Data Collection and Sharing
This bill would authorize county probation departments
involved in this pilot project to release information to DMH
regarding minors involved in the program for purposes of
oversight and evaluation.
County probation departments involved in the pilot would be
required to 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. Participating counties would be required
to identify existing local, state, federal, and private
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resources that may be used to fund these services.
Evaluation
This bill would require that the pilot "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."
Funding
As currently drafted, this bill would provide that its
implementation shall be contingent on an appropriation in the
annual Budget Act.<1>
Findings and Declarations
This bill contains legislative findings and declarations
concerning state national data pertaining to mentally ill
youthful offenders, as discussed below.
COMMENTS
1. Stated Need for This Bill
The author states:
Between one-third and two-thirds of youth in the
juvenile delinquency system suffer from mental
health problems, according to various estimates.
In addition, a significant proportion of these
youth have substance abuse problems. California
currently has no structured procedure for the
assessment of youth when they enter the
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<1> The 2000-2001 Budget did not appropriate funding for the
purposes of this bill.
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delinquency system in order to identify mental
health, health, or substance abuse problems, or
educational needs. Services to address youth's
problems in these areas are often not provided
until a crisis point is reached. Early assessment
and identification of youth's problems will enable
county probation departments to identify the
services that will directly address the reasons
youth are in the delinquency system in the first
place.
2. Background: Mentally Ill Juvenile Offenders
No studies comprehensively document the level of mental health
services needs among California's juvenile offenders. However,
the following data provides some information outlining the scope
of the need.
The quarterly juvenile detention surveys conducted by the Board
of Corrections provide some sense of the number of detained
juveniles requiring mental health services:<2>
Average Daily Populations of Minors Detained in County Juvenile
Halls and Camps
Receiving Psychotropic Medications or Requiring Mental Health
Services
1999
-----------------------------------------------------------
| | 1st |2nd |3rd |4th |
| |Quarter |Quarter |Quarter |Quarter |
|-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------|
|Receiving | | | | |
|Psychotropi| 1,018.1 | 1,029 | 1,396.1 |1,054.6 |
|c Drugs | | | | |
|while in | | | | |
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<2> A total of approximately 12,000-14,000 juveniles are
detained monthly in California juvenile halls and camps.
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|Detention | | | | |
|-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------+-----------|
|Identified | | | | |
|as Needing | 1,321.7 | 1,532.6 | 1,619.3 | 1,552.4 |
|Mental-Heal| | | | |
|th | | | | |
|Services | | | | |
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In 1998, the federal Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency
Prevention issued a report on mental health disorders among
juvenile offenders. OJJDP concludes that dealing with long-term
mental health problems in juvenile offenders is crucial:
Although the prevalence of mental health and
substance abuse disorders among youth in the
juvenile justice system is largely unknown, recent
research suggests that these problems are
significantly greater for juvenile delinquents
than for other youth. It has been estimated that
each year, of the youth who come in contact with
the juvenile justice system, 150,000 meet the
diagnostic criteria for at least one mental
disorder, 225,000 suffer from a diagnosable
alcohol abuse or dependence disorder, and 95,000
may suffer from a diagnosable substance abuse or
dependence disorder (Cocozza, 1992).
Research has also demonstrated that juvenile
delinquents tend to have both mental health
disorders and substance abuse problems, and a high
percentage of them also have conduct disorders.
Finally, research and experience demonstrate that
the services available in the juvenile justice
system to alleviate these problems are entirely
inadequate. (Mental Health Disorders and
Substance Abuse Problems Among Juveniles
(Bilchik); OJJDP Fact Sheet #82)
The National Mental Health Association has compiled the
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following summary of prevalence findings concerning mental
disorders among children in the juvenile justice system:
Based on data obtained from site visits to a nationally
representative sample of 95 public and private juvenile
facilities, researchers found that 73% of the children
in these facilities reported mental health problems
during screening (Abt Associates, 1994). In addition,
57% of youth reported that they have previously
received treatment for mental health problems.
In Maryland, data obtained from a representative,
random sample of youth from all 15 juvenile facilities
indicated that 57% have a history of mental illness;
53% have at least one current mental disorder diagnosis
(based on structured diagnostic interviews) (Shelton,
1998).
In Virginia, a census of 17 secure detention homes
revealed that 8% to 10% of the youth need immediate
mental health treatment (e.g. medication or inpatient
treatment) for depression, anxiety, or psychotic
symptoms. The clinicians conducting this study
estimated that 77% of the youth would meet diagnostic
criteria for a mental disorder. Finally, 55% of the
youth in these detention homes had previously received
treatment for mental health problems (Policy Design
Team, 1994).
Research conducted in Georgia using a random sample of
youth admitted to the Regional Youth Detention Centers
indicated that 61% of these youth had mental disorders,
including substance abuse disorders (based on
structured diagnostic interviews) (Marsteller et al.,
1997).
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Among a random sample of youth from South Carolina
Department of Juvenile Justice facilities, 72% met full
criteria for at least one mental disorder diagnosis
(Atkins et al., in press).
Researchers in Canada (Toronto) used a structured
diagnostic interview to evaluate adolescents in two
secure facilities and found that 63% had two or more
mental disorders, with an additional 22% meeting
diagnostic criteria for one mental disorder (Ulzen &
Hamilton, 1998). (NMHA @ www.nmha.org/children/
justjuv/prevalence.cfm)<3>
NMHA concludes:
Although estimates of the percentage of youth with
mental disorders in the juvenile justice system
vary from study to study, a consistent picture is
beginning to emerge. Despite differences in
methodology and instrumentation, researchers from
across the country are documenting high rates of
mental disorder, including substance abuse
disorders and multiple co-occurring diagnoses,
among children incarcerated in juvenile
facilities. (Id.)
3. Related Legislation
This Committee passed (5-0) SB 2062 (Perata), which would
establish competitive grants for mentally ill juvenile offender
treatment. This Committee also has before it AB 2104
(Strom-Martin), which would establish demonstration regional
facilities for severely emotionally disturbed juvenile
offenders.
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<3> This data also derives in part from the findings and
declarations in this bill, and from Assembly Member Aroner's
December 15, 1999 hearing, "Improving the Continuum of Services
for Juveniles with Serious Mental Health Problems."
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