Article 4. Mentally Ill Offender Crime Reduction Grants of California Penal Code >> Title 7. >> Part 3. >> Chapter 5. >> Article 4.

(a) The Board of State and Community Corrections shall administer mentally ill offender crime reduction grants on a competitive basis to counties that expand or establish a continuum of timely and effective responses to reduce crime and criminal justice costs related to mentally ill offenders. The grants administered under this article by the board shall be divided equally between adult and juvenile mentally ill offender crime reduction grants in accordance with the funds appropriated for each type of grant. The grants shall support prevention, intervention, supervision, and incarceration-based services and strategies to reduce recidivism and to improve outcomes for mentally ill juvenile and adult offenders.
  (b) For purposes of this article, the following terms shall have the following meanings:
  (1) "Board" means the Board of State and Community Corrections.
  (2) "Mentally ill adult offenders" means persons described in subdivisions (b) and (c) of Section 5600.3 of the Welfare and Institutions Code.
  (3) "Mentally ill juvenile offenders" means persons described in subdivision (a) of Section 5600.3 of the Welfare and Institutions Code.

(a) A county shall be eligible to apply for either an adult mentally ill offender grant or a juvenile mentally ill offender grant or both in accordance with all other provisions of this article. The board shall provide a separate and competitive grant application and award process for each of the adult and juvenile mentally ill offender crime reduction grant categories. The board shall endeavor to assist counties that apply for grants in both categories in meeting any grant submission requirements that may overlap between the two categories of grants.
  (b) (1) A county that applies for an adult mentally ill offender grant shall establish a strategy committee to design the grant application that includes, at a minimum, the sheriff or director of the county department of corrections in a county where the sheriff does not administer the county jail system, who shall chair the committee, and representatives from other local law enforcement agencies, the chief probation officer, the county mental health director, a superior court judge, a former offender who is or has been a client of a mental health treatment facility, and representatives from organizations that can provide or have provided treatment or stabilization services for mentally ill offenders, including treatment, housing, income or job support, and caretaking.
  (2) A county that applies for a juvenile mentally ill offender grant shall establish a strategy committee that includes, at a minimum, the chief probation officer who shall chair the committee, representatives from local law enforcement agencies, the county mental health director, a superior court judge, a client or former offender who has received juvenile mental health services, and representatives from organizations that can provide or have provided treatment or support services for mentally ill juvenile offenders, including therapy, education, employment, housing, and caretaking services.
  (3) A county that applies for both types of grants may convene a combined strategy committee that includes the sheriff or jail administrator and the chief probation officer as cochairs of the committee, as well as representation from the other agencies, departments, and disciplines designated in paragraphs (1) and (2) for both types of committees.
  (c) The strategy committee shall develop and describe in its grant application a comprehensive county plan for providing a cost-effective continuum of responses and services for mentally ill adult offenders or mentally ill juvenile offenders, including prevention, intervention, and incarceration-based services, as appropriate. The plan shall describe how the responses and services included in the plan have been proven to be or are designed to be effective in addressing the mental health needs of the target offender population, while also reducing recidivism and custody levels for mentally ill offenders in adult or juvenile detention or correctional facilities. Strategies for prevention, intervention, and incarceration-based services in the plan shall include, but not be limited to, all of the following:
  (1) Mental health and substance abuse treatment for mentally ill adult offenders or mentally ill juvenile offenders who are presently placed, incarcerated, or housed in a local adult or juvenile detention or correctional facility or who are under supervision by the probation department after having been released from a state or local adult or juvenile detention or correctional facility.
  (2) Prerelease, reentry, continuing, and community-based services designed to provide long-term stability for juvenile or adult offenders outside of the facilities of the adult or juvenile justice systems, including services to support a stable source of income, a safe and decent residence, and a conservator or caretaker, as needed in appropriate cases.
  (3) For mentally ill juvenile offender applications, one or more of the following strategies that has proven to be effective or has evidence-based support for effectiveness in the remediation of mental health disorders and the reduction of offending: short-term and family-based therapies, collaborative interagency service agreements, specialized court-based assessment and disposition tracks or programs, or other specialized mental health treatment and intervention models for juvenile offenders that are proven or promising from an evidence-based perspective.
  (d) The plan as included in the grant application shall include the identification of specific outcome and performance measures and for annual reporting on grant performance and outcomes to the board that will allow the board to evaluate, at a minimum, the effectiveness of the strategies supported by the grant in reducing crime, incarceration, and criminal justice costs related to mentally ill offenders. The board shall, in the grant application process, provide guidance to counties on the performance measures and reporting criteria to be addressed in the application.

(a) The application submitted by a county shall describe a four-year plan for the programs, services, or strategies to be provided under the grant. The board shall award grants that provide funding for three years. Funding shall be used to supplement, rather than supplant, funding for existing programs. Funds may be used to fund specialized alternative custody and diversion programs that offer appropriate mental health treatment and services.
  (b) A grant shall not be awarded unless the applicant makes available resources in accordance with the instructions of the board in an amount equal to at least 25 percent of the amount of the grant. Resources may include in-kind contributions from participating agencies.
  (c) In awarding grants, priority or preference shall be given to those grant applications that include documented match funding that exceeds 25 percent of the total grant amount.

The board shall establish minimum requirements, funding criteria, and procedures for awarding grants, which shall take into consideration, but not be limited to, all of the following:
  (a) The probable or potential impact of the grant on reducing the number or percent of mentally ill adult offenders or mentally ill juvenile offenders who are incarcerated or detained in local adult or juvenile correctional facilities and, as relevant for juvenile offenders, in probation out-of-home placements.
  (b) Demonstrated ability to administer the program, including any past experience in the administration of a prior mentally ill offender crime reduction grant.
  (c) Demonstrated ability to develop effective responses and to provide effective treatment and stability for mentally ill adult offenders or mentally ill juvenile offenders.
  (d) Demonstrated ability to provide for interagency collaboration to ensure the effective coordination and delivery of the strategies, programs, or services described in the application.
  (e) Likelihood that the program will continue to operate after state grant funding ends, including the applicant's demonstrated history of maximizing federal, state, local, and private funding sources to address the needs of the grant service population.

(a) The board shall create an evaluation design for adult and juvenile mentally ill offender crime reduction grants that assesses the effectiveness of the program in reducing crime, adult and juvenile offender incarceration and placement levels, early releases due to jail overcrowding, and local criminal and juvenile justice costs. The evaluation design may include outcome measures related to the service levels, treatment modes, and stability measures for juvenile and adult offenders participating in, or benefitting from, mentally ill offender crime reduction grant programs or services.
  (b) Commencing on October 1, 2015, and annually thereafter, the board shall submit a report to the Legislature based on the evaluation design, with a final report due on December 31, 2018.
  (c) The reports submitted pursuant to this section shall be submitted in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code.
  (d) Pursuant to Section 10231.5 of the Government Code, this section shall be repealed as of January 1, 2024.

The board may use up to 5 percent of the funds appropriated for purposes of this article to administer this program, including technical assistance to counties and the development of the evaluation component.