Bill Text: CA AB2161 | 2023-2024 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: The Early Psychosis Intervention Plus Program.
Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 3-1)
Status: (Engrossed) 2024-08-15 - In committee: Held under submission. [AB2161 Detail]
Download: California-2023-AB2161-Amended.html
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Amended
IN
Senate
June 26, 2024 |
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Amended
IN
Assembly
April 11, 2024 |
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Amended
IN
Assembly
April 01, 2024 |
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Amended
IN
Assembly
March 21, 2024 |
CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE—
2023–2024 REGULAR SESSION
Assembly Bill
No. 2161
| Introduced by Assembly Member Arambula (Coauthors: Assembly Members Aguiar-Curry and Waldron) (Coauthor: Senator Rubio) |
February 06, 2024 |
An act to add Sections 5835.6 and 5835.7 to the Welfare and Institutions Code, relating to behavioral health.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2161, as amended, Arambula.
The Early Psychosis Intervention Plus Program.
Existing law establishes the Early Psychosis Intervention Plus (EPI Plus) Program to encompass early psychosis and mood disorder detection and intervention. Existing law establishes the Early Psychosis and Mood Disorder Detection and Intervention Fund and makes the moneys in the fund available, upon appropriation, to the Behavioral Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission. Existing law authorizes the commission to allocate moneys from that fund to provide grants to create or expand existing capacity for early psychosis and mood disorder detection and intervention services and supports.
This bill would require the Behavioral Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission to consult with the State Department of Health Care Services and related state departments and entities, create a strategic plan to achieve specific
goals, including improving the understanding of psychosis, as specified, and, no later than July 1, 2025, submit that strategic plan to the relevant policy and fiscal committees of the Legislature. The bill would require the State Department of Health Care Services to seek to partner with the University of California to develop a plan to establish the Center for Mental Health Wellness and Innovations to, among other things, promote the widespread availability of evidence-based practices to improve behavioral health services. If the center is established, the bill would require the State Department of Health Care Services, no later than July 1, 2025, to submit the plan to create the center to the relevant policy and fiscal committees of the Legislature.
Digest Key
Vote: MAJORITY Appropriation: NO Fiscal Committee: YES Local Program: NOBill Text
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
SECTION 1.
Section 5835.6 is added to the Welfare and Institutions Code, to read:5835.6.
(a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:(1) California is facing a behavioral health crisis that is largely avoidable.
(2) Too many Californians face barriers to behavioral health care that impede their ability to achieve recovery.
(3) The Governor and Legislature have made progress in addressing suicide, by developing digital health strategies to support prevention and early intervention, strengthening fiscal strategies from a
population health perspective, and fortifying school mental health and youth drop-in services to ensure all children and youth have improved access to care.
(4) Despite these efforts, Californians continue to face delays in accessing care that could prevent the escalation of needs, reduce costs, and improve outcomes. Criminal justice involvement continues as a persistent challenge that undermines efforts to reduce costs and is largely driven by inadequate access to effective community-based services.
(5) California’s behavioral health system must be designed around the lived experiences of the individuals it serves and assertively focused on addressing disparities and achieving equity, inclusion, and accessibility across California’s many populations, communities, and
geographies.
(6) The State of California, as a leader in early psychosis intervention, represents a key opportunity to intervene early in the onset of serious and persistent behavioral health needs.
(7) The federally supported Recovery After an Initial Schizophrenia Episode (RAISE) study documented that coordinated specialty care is more effective than typical care in responding to early psychosis with a greater likelihood of participating in treatment, improved symptoms, stronger family and interpersonal relationships, and quality of life. Individuals supported with coordinated specialty care are more likely to remain in school, participate in work, and benefit from recovery with fulfilling lives.
(8) Research suggests that less
than 10 percent of Californians who develop psychosis each year will have access to coordinated specialty care, and those who do not have a higher risk of homelessness, incarceration, and repeat hospitalizations.
(b) The Behavioral Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission shall create a strategic plan to achieve all of the following:
(1) Improve understanding of psychosis, its impacts on California’s communities, and the quality of life and outcomes for individuals and families experiencing psychosis.
(2) Document the fiscal impact of unaddressed or inadequately addressed psychosis and related disorders.
(3) Recommend opportunities to improve
California’s response to early psychosis, including, but not limited to, finance, workforce, technical assistance and training, research and evaluation, accountability strategies, public understanding and awareness, outreach, and education.
(c) The commission shall consult with the State Department of Health Care Services and related state departments and entities to meet the goals of this section.
(d) The commission shall submit its strategic plan to the relevant policy and fiscal committees of the Legislature no later than July 1, 2025.
(e) As used in this section, “psychosis” refers to schizophrenia and related disorders as determined by the commission or the department, where
relevant.
SEC. 2.
Section 5835.7 is added to the Welfare and Institutions Code, to read:5835.7.
(a) The State Department of Health Care Services shall seek to partner with the University of California to develop a plan to establish the Center for Mental Health Wellness and Innovations to promote the widespread availability of evidence-based practices to improve behavioral health services, ensure accountability, and promote recovery-oriented outcomes for consumers and families.(b) The center shall serve as a key resource to the department by spreading evidence-based practices identified by the department as most critical to accomplish transformational change in behavioral health service delivery.
(c) The center’s duties may include, but not be limited to, all of the following:
(1) Providing training support to increase the competencies of the behavioral health workforce.
(2) Providing implementation support to enhance the adoption of evidence-based treatments and services.
(3) Developing and distributing educational courses, guidelines, manuals, and toolkits.
(4) Implementing a research agenda.
(d) If the center is established, the State Department of Health Care Services shall submit the plan described in subdivision (a) to the relevant policy and fiscal committees of the
Legislature no later than July 1, 2025.
