BILL ANALYSIS
SENATE COMMITTEE ON Public Safety
Senator John Vasconcellos, Chair S
1999-2000 Regular Session B
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SB 1769 (Chesbro) 9
As Amended April 13, 2000
Hearing date: April 25, 2000
Penal Code
MK:mc
MENTAL HEALTH COURTS
HISTORY
Source: Author
Prior Legislation: SB 1485 (Rosenthal) - Chapter 501,
Stats. 1998
Support: Peace Officers Research Association of California
Opposition:None known
KEY ISSUE
SHOULD COUNTIES BE ALLOWED TO RECEIVE FUNDING FOR MENTAL HEALTH
COURTS THROUGH AN EXISTING GRANT PROGRAM FOR PROGRAMS FOR MENTALLY
ILL INMATES?
SHOULD THE LAW SET FORTH THE BASIC REQUIREMENTS AND GOALS OF A
MENTAL HEALTH COURT, WHICH RECEIVES FUNDING AS PART OF A GRANT UNDER
THE MENTALLY ILL OFFENDER CRIME REDUCTION PROGRAM?
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PURPOSE
The purpose of this bill is to allow counties to receive
funding for mental health courts through and existing grant
program for programs for mentally ill inmates and to
establish basic requirements for such a court in order for
it to be eligible for such a grant.
Existing law provides that the Board of Corrections shall
administer and award mentally ill offender crime reduction
grants on a competitive basis to counties that expand or
establish a continuum of swift, certain, and graduated
responses to reduce crime and criminal justice costs
related to mentally ill offenders. (Penal Code 6045)
Existing law provides that to be eligible for a grant each
county shall develop a comprehensive plan for providing
cost-effective continuum of graduated responses including
prevention, intervention, and incarceration for mentally
ill offenders. (Penal Code 6045.2)
This bill provides that a component of the comprehensive
mental health plan described above may be the development
and implementation of a mental health court.
This bill provides that the objectives of the mental health
court shall be:
increased cooperation between the criminal justice system
and mental health systems;
faster case processing time;
improved access to necessary services and support;
improved well-being for offenders with mental illness;
reduced recidivism.
This bill provides that the mental health court shall
provide for a single point of contact where a defendant with
a mental disability may receive court-ordered treatment and
support services in connection with a diversion from
prosecution, a sentencing alternative, or a term of
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probation.
This bill provides that defendants may be referred to the
mental health court by a number of sources including but
not limited to the police, attorneys, family members,
probation officers, the district attorney, the public
defender, jail personnel, or another court.
Existing law provides that the Board of Corrections, in
consultation with the State Department of Mental Health and
the State Department of Alcohol and Drug Programs shall
award grants that provide funding for four years to
supplement funding for existing programs. The funding
shall not be used to facilitate the early release of
prisoners or alternatives to incarceration. (Penal Code
6045.4)
Existing law provides that the Board of Corrections in
consultation with the State Department of Mental Health and
the State Department of Alcohol and Drug Programs to
establish minimum standards, funding schedules and
procedures for awarding grants. (Penal Code 6045.6)
This bill provides that preference for the above grants
shall be given to crime reduction grant proposals that
establish or implement a mental health court as described
in this bill.
COMMENTS
1. Need for the Bill
According to the author:
Research tells us that California spends in excess
of $315 million on persons with mental illness who
are repeatedly placed in county jails for
violations of the law, often quite minor. SB 1769
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seeks to reduce these costs by encouraging counties
to develop a specialized mental health court which
would identify appropriate mentally ill offenders,
place them into appropriate community-based
programs, and monitor their compliance with their
treatment program. Studies show that mentally ill
persons who have treatment and stability do not
commit crimes.
According to national figures, an estimated 7.2% of
inmates were reported to suffer from serious mental
illness according to a joint report of the National
Alliance for the Mentally Ill and the Public
Citizen's Health Research Group. Nearly one-third
of the jails surveyed had seriously mentally ill
individuals in custody without filing criminal
charges against them. Most others held inmates on
lesser charges such as disorderly conduct,
trespassing, and drunkenness. Once mentally ill
persons are jailed, their psychiatric and medical
consequences worsen. More than 20% of jails have
no access to mental health services of any kind,
and the vast majority provides little or no
training to corrections officers in treating the
mentally ill. Despite even the best intentions of
prison officials, inmates with mental illness are
often abused by other inmates, are exposed to
deadly diseases, or commit suicide (according to a
report in the American Bar Association Journal ,
"Special Treatment," June 1998).
In California, the total impact of the mentally ill
on the criminal justice and corrections system is
estimated to be $1.2 billion and $1.8 billion. 8%
to 20% of state prison inmates are seriously
mentally ill. Between 7.2% and 15% of county
inmates have a serious mental illness. It is
conservatively estimated that 10% of all arrestees
are seriously mentally ill (Pacific Research
Institute for Public Policy in "Corrections,
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Criminal Justice, and the Mentally Ill: Some
Observations About Costs in California," September
1966).
Very often, a person's untreated mental illness is
directly responsible for the behavior, which led to
his or her arrest. Further, increasing demand for
jail and prison space typically leads to the early
release of many offenders with mental illness who
are returned to the community without services or
supports and are likely to re-offend.
2. Grant Program
Existing law provides that the Board of Corrections shall
administer and award mentally ill offender crime reduction
grants on a competitive basis to counties that expand or
establish a continuum of swift, certain, and graduated
responses to reduce crime and criminal justice costs
related to mentally ill offenders (Mentally Ill Offender
Crime Reduction Grant-MIOCRG). Counties must submit local
plans created by a strategy committee which includes at a
minimum the local sheriff, the chief probation officer, the
county mental health director, a superior court judge, a
client of a mental health facility, and a provider of
mental health in the region. The local plans are then
reviewed by the Board of Corrections in consultation with
the State Department of Mental Health and the State
Department of Alcohol and Drug Programs.
According to the Board of Corrections Analysis of MIOCRG
Local Plans<1> in March 1999, the Board of Corrections
received a total of 44 Local Plans from 45 counties. The
counties were fairly evenly divided between large, medium,
and small counties and are from throughout California.
MIOCRG currently supports demonstration projects in 15
counties.
In reviewing the needs expressed by the Local Plans, the
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<1> Available on the internet at bdcorr.ca.gov
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Board of Corrections noted "a large number of Local Plans
recognized that in many cases successful reintegration will
not happen without involving the courts." A number of
counties cited the need for specialized-court orders and
others also cited the need for a specialized court.
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This bill provides that a preference shall be given to
crime reduction grant proposals that establish or implement
a mental health court.
3. Mental Health Courts
This bill provides that a component of the Local Plan may
be the development and implementation of a mental health
court. This bill provides that a mental health court shall
have the following objectives:
increased cooperation between the criminal justice system
and mental health systems;
faster case processing time;
improved access to necessary services and support;
improved well-being for offenders with mental illness;
reduced recidivism.
This bill provides that the mental health court will
provide for alternatives to incarceration including
diversion from prosecution, sentencing alternatives, or a
term of probation. This would allow a judge to place a
defendant in treatment for his or her mental illness
instead of incarcerating the defendant. However, existing
law provides that the grant funds may not be used "to
facilitate the early release of prisoners or alternatives
to incarceration." (Penal Code 6045.5) This bill will
be in contradiction with that existing provision, unless
that existing provision is removed.
This bill provides that referral to the mental health court
can come from a variety of sources such as the police,
family, and attorneys.
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This bill allows the local court to develop the criteria
for acceptance into, continuing participation in, and
graduation from a mental health court program.
It provides that the health court shall use existing staff,
but that the county mental health department shall provide
initial and ongoing training for the staff.
SHOULD THE COMPREHENSIVE LOCAL PLANS ELIGIBLE FOR THE
MIOCRG PROGRAM BE PERMITTED TO INCLUDE MENTAL HEALTH
COURTS?
SHOULD MENTAL HEALTH COURTS BE PERMITTED TO USE DIVERSION
AND THUS SHOULD THE EXISTING LAW BE CHANGED TO DELETE THE
PROHIBITION ON USING GRANT MONEY FOR ALTERNATIVES TO
INCARCERATION?
SHOULD THE CRITERIA FOR PARTICIPATION IN A MENTAL HEALTH
COURT PROGRAM BE LEFT TO THE LOCAL JURISDICTION?
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