Bill Text: CA SB1013 | 2015-2016 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Mentally ill parolees: housing.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Failed) 2016-11-30 - From committee without further action. [SB1013 Detail]
Download: California-2015-SB1013-Amended.html
BILL NUMBER: SB 1013 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 26, 2016
AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 7, 2016
AMENDED IN SENATE MARCH 17, 2016
INTRODUCED BY Senator Beall
FEBRUARY 11, 2016
An act to amend Sections 2985, 2985.1, 2985.2, 2985.3, 2985.4, and
2985.5 of the Penal Code, relating to parolees.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
SB 1013, as amended, Beall. Mentally ill parolees: housing.
(1) Existing law authorizes the Department of Corrections and
Rehabilitation to obtain day treatment, and to contract for crisis
care services, for parolees with mental health problems, and requires
the department to provide a supportive housing program that provides
wraparound services to mentally ill parolees at risk of homelessness
using funding appropriated for that purpose. Existing law provides
that an inmate or parolee is eligible for participation if he or she
has a serious mental disorder, as defined, has been assigned a
release date from state prison, and is likely to become homeless upon
release or is currently a homeless parolee. Existing law requires
providers to offer various services, including housing location
services and rental subsidies. Existing law requires a service
provider to comply with specified requirements, including, among
others, that the service provider has prior experience working with
county or regional mental health programs.
This bill would require a service provider to also demonstrate an
existing relationship with a supportive housing provider. The bill
would specify that a program participant is not required to receive
other services for mentally ill parolees as a condition of
eligibility to receive rental assistance through the program.
The bill would require a service provider to exercise due diligence
in providing any mental health or other contracted services and to
notify the department of a participant's participation in those
services. The bill would require a service provider to offer
rental subsidies that are equal to or greater than fair market rent,
as defined. The bill would also prohibit the department or a service
provider from limiting the duration that a program participant may
receive rental assistance through the program, except by the length
of the person's parole.
(2) Existing law requires a service provider to identify and
locate supportive housing opportunities prior to a program
participant's release from state prison or as quickly upon release
from state prison as possible, or as quickly as possible when a
program participant is identified during parole. Existing law
requires a service provider to report specified information to the
department, including the number of program participants served and
the outcomes for program participants, including the number of
participants who returned to state prison.
This bill would require a service provider to identify and locate
supportive housing opportunities no later than 9 months after the
program participant has agreed to participate in the program. The
bill would require that the housing located provide the program
participant with a lease where he or she has all of the rights and
responsibilities of tenancy. The bill would require a service
provider to use a portion of the program payments received to provide
interim housing, as defined. The bill would also require a service
provider to report to the department the percentage of program
participants currently living in permanent housing and the number who
are arrested and residing in county jail. The bill would also make
technical, nonsubstantive, and clarifying changes.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: no.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
(a) The Legislature passed, and the Governor signed, Senate Bill
1021 in 2012, which included direction to the Department of
Corrections and Rehabilitation to create the Supportive Housing
Program for Mentally Ill Parolees, pursuant to Section 3073 of the
Penal Code. The program was intended to use funds budgeted for the
Integrated Services for Mentally Ill Parolees (ISMIP) program to
serve the purposes outlined in Senate Bill 1021.
(b) Since 2012, the budget has not referred to the program by name
and funds have not been used for their legislatively intended
purposes.
(c) It is the intent of the Legislature to strengthen the ISMIP
program to ensure that the department promotes the
evidence-based evidence-based, wraparound
services, including rental subsidies in an amount adequate to allow
mentally ill parolees experiencing homelessness or at risk of
experiencing homelessness upon release from prison to obtain and
maintain housing stability during and after the term of parole,
thereby reducing recidivism among parolees with a history of
homelessness.
(d) It is the intent of the Legislature that contracts the
department enters into under the ISMIP program require contractors to
target resources to parolees experiencing homelessness or offenders
at risk of homelessness upon release. The contracts shall emphasize
housing permanency and stability over food, clothing, and drop-in or
day center services and shall require contractors to use a
substantial portion of the contracted payment to provide rental
assistance to obtain housing that is independent and integrated into
the community.
(e) It is the intent of the Legislature that the Department of
Corrections and Rehabilitation include the changes made in this act
into contracts renewed or entered into for the ISMIP program on and
after January 1, 2017.
SEC. 2. Section 2985 of the Penal Code is amended to read:
2985. It is the intent of the Legislature in enacting this
article to provide evidence-based, comprehensive mental health and
supportive services, including housing subsidies, to parolees who
suffer from mental illness and are either homeless or at risk of
homelessness, in order to successfully reintegrate the parolees into
the community, increase public safety, and reduce state costs of
recidivism. It is further the intent of the Legislature to supplement
existing parole outpatient clinic services by providing services to
individuals who suffer from a severe mental illness, as defined in
Section 5600.3 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, and who require
services that cannot be provided by parole outpatient clinics,
including services provided pursuant to Section 5806 of the Welfare
and Institutions Code.
SEC. 3. Section 2985.1 of the Penal Code is amended to read:
2985.1. For purposes of this article, the following definitions
shall apply:
(a) "Bridge rental assistance" means rental assistance paid to
participating landlords while the service provider and program
participant seek permanent rental assistance that allows the program
participant to remain in the same housing or, when feasible, allows
the program participant to incur the full responsibility of paying
rent through employment or benefits entitlement once parole ends.
(b) "Department" means the Department of Corrections and
Rehabilitation.
(c) "Fair market rent" means the rent, including the cost of
utilities other than telephone, as established by the United States
Department of Housing and Urban Development, for units of varying
sizes, as determined by the number of bedrooms, that must be paid in
the market area to rent privately owned, existing, decent, safe, and
sanitary rental housing of a modest nature with suitable amenities.
(d) "Homelessness" has the same meaning as in Part 91 of Title 24
of the Code of Federal Regulations.
(e) "Integrated Services for Mentally Ill Parolees program" or
"ISMIP program" means the program of supportive services and housing
support provided by this article.
(f) "Interim housing" means a temporary residence in which a
program participant resides, for a period not to exceed nine months,
while waiting to move into permanent housing. "Interim housing" may
include housing that is paid for using motel vouchers or housing in
which a program participant resides for the purpose of receiving
recuperative care.
(g) "Likely to become homeless upon release" or "at risk of
homelessness" means the individual has a history of homelessness and
he or she satisfies both of the following criteria:
(1) The individual has not identified a fixed, regular, and
adequate nighttime residence for release.
(2) The individual's only identified nighttime residence for
release includes a supervised, publicly or privately operated shelter
designed to provide temporary living accommodations, or a public or
private place not designed for, or not ordinarily used as, regular
sleeping accommodations for human beings.
(h) "Supportive housing" has the same meaning set forth in
subdivision (b) of Section 50675.14 of the Health and Safety Code,
and that, in addition, is decent, safe, and affordable.
SEC. 4. Section 2985.2 of the Penal Code is amended to read:
2985.2. (a) Pursuant to Section 3073, the department shall
provide a supportive housing program that provides wraparound
services to mentally ill parolees who are either homeless or at risk
of homelessness using funding appropriated by the Legislature for the
ISMIP program.
(b) A service provider participating in this program shall comply
with all of the following:
(1) Provide services and treatment based on evidence-based
practices.
(2) Demonstrate that the program reduces recidivism and
homelessness among program participants.
(3) Have prior experience working with county or regional mental
health programs.
(4) Demonstrate existing relationships with a supportive housing
provider.
(c) (1) An inmate or parolee is eligible to participate in this
program if all of the following apply:
(A) He or she has a serious mental disorder as defined in Section
5600.3 of the Welfare and Institutions Code and as identified by the
department, and he or she has a history of mental health treatment in
the prison's mental health services delivery system or in a parole
outpatient clinic.
(B) The inmate or parolee voluntarily chooses to participate.
(C) Either of the following applies:
(i) He or she has been assigned a date of release within 60 to 180
days and is likely to become homeless upon release.
(ii) He or she is currently a homeless parolee.
(2) First priority for the program shall be given to the lowest
functioning offenders in prison, as identified by the department, who
are likely to become homeless upon release.
(d) A service provider shall exercise due diligence in
providing any mental health or other contracted services pursuant to
Section 2985.3 and shall notify the department of an
individual's participation in such services. A parolee is not
required to receive other ISMIP services as a condition of
eligibility to receive rental assistance pursuant to this article.
SEC. 5. Section 2985.3 of the Penal Code is amended to read:
2985.3. (a) A service provider shall offer services, in
accordance with Section 5806 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, to
obtain and maintain health and housing stability while the program
participant is on parole, to enable the program participant to comply
with the terms of parole, and to augment mental health services
provided to the program participant. The services shall be offered to
a program participant in his or her home, or shall be made as easily
accessible to the program participant as possible and shall include,
but are not limited to, all of the following:
(1) Case management services.
(2) Parole discharge planning.
(3) Housing location services, and, if needed, move-in cost
assistance.
(4) Rental subsidies that are equal to or greater than fair market
rent.
(5) Linkage to other services, such as vocational, educational,
and employment services, as needed.
(6) Benefit entitlement application and appeal assistance.
(7) Transportation assistance to obtain services and health care
needed.
(8) Assistance obtaining appropriate identification.
(b) For a program participant identified prior to release from
state prison, upon the service provider's receipt of referral and in
collaboration with the parole agent and, if appropriate, staff, the
intake coordinator or case manager of the service provider shall,
when possible:
(1) Receive all prerelease assessments and discharge plans.
(2) Draft a plan for the program participant's transition into
housing that serves the program participant's needs and that
demonstrates a clear transition pathway to permanent, independent,
and affordable housing. Housing options shall include permanent
supportive housing and interim housing, as necessary, while the
program participant awaits placement into supportive housing.
(3) Engage the program participant to actively participate in
services upon release.
(4) Assist in obtaining identification for the program
participant, if necessary.
(5) Assist in applying for any benefits for which the program
participant is eligible.
(c) (1) To facilitate the transition of a program participant
identified prior to release into the community and a program
participant identified during parole into supportive housing, a
service provider shall, on an ongoing basis, but not less than
quarterly, assess each program participant's needs and include in
each program participant's assessment a plan to foster independence
and continued residence in the same permanent housing when his or her
parole is complete.
(2) Upon referral to the service provider, the service provider
shall work to transition a program participant from the department's
rental assistance to other mainstream rental assistance benefits if
those benefits are necessary to enable the program participant to
remain in stable housing, and shall prioritize transitioning the
program participant to these benefits in a manner that allows the
program participant to remain housed, when possible, without moving.
Mainstream rental assistance benefits may include, but are not
limited to, federal Housing Choice Voucher assistance, Department of
Housing and Urban Development-Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing
vouchers, or other rental assistance programs.
(3) The program participant's parole discharge plan and the
assessments shall consider the need for, and prioritize linkage to,
county mental health services and housing opportunities that are
supported by the Mental Health Services Act, the Mental Health
Services Act Housing Program, or other funding sources that finance
permanent supportive housing for persons with mental illness, so that
the program participant may continue to achieve all recovery goals
of the program and remain permanently housed when his or her parole
is complete.
(4) The department and service providers shall not limit the
bridge rental assistance made available to the program participant,
except to the term of the program participant's parole. The program
participant shall be allowed to remain in the same housing after the
bridge rental assistance ends, so long as he or she complies with the
terms of the lease.
SEC. 6. Section 2985.4 of the Penal Code is amended to read:
2985.4. (a) A service provider shall identify and locate
supportive housing opportunities for a program participant prior to
his or her release from state prison or as quickly upon his or her
release from state prison as possible, or as quickly as possible
after the program participant is identified during parole, but in no
case later than nine months after the program participant agrees to
participate in the ISMIP program.
(b) Housing identified pursuant to subdivision (a) shall satisfy
all of the following:
(1) The housing is located in an apartment building, single-room
occupancy buildings, townhouses, or single-family homes, including
rent-subsidized apartments leased in the open market or set aside
within privately owned buildings.
(2) The housing is not subject to community care licensing
requirements or is exempt from licensing under Section 1504.5 of the
Health and Safety Code.
(3) A program participant living in supportive housing shall have
a lease and be subject to the rights and responsibilities of tenancy.
(c) A service provider shall use a portion of the ISMIP payments
received from the department to identify and offer the program
participant interim housing while the program participant is waiting
to obtain appropriate permanent rental housing and to complete
documentation and paperwork needed to move the program participant
into the rental housing.
(d) If a service provider operates in a county that utilizes
homeless coordinated assessment and entry systems, the service
provider shall offer ISMIP program payments and housing assistance to
parolees who qualify for the ISMIP program through those systems.
(e) A service provider may use ISMIP program payments to support a
housing specialist position to work with lessors, affordable and
for-profit housing developers, public housing authorities, and other
housing providers to identify and secure affordable rental housing
for program participants.
SEC. 7. Section 2985.5 of the Penal Code is amended to read:
2985.5. (a) A service provider shall report to the department
regarding the intended outcomes of the program, including all of the
following:
(1) The number of program participants served.
(2) The types of services that were provided to program
participants.
(3) The outcomes for program participants, including the number
who are living independently, the number who remain in or moved to
permanent housing, the number who ceased to participate in the
program, the number who returned to state prison, and the number who
were arrested and are residing in county jail.
(4) The number of program participants who successfully completed
parole and transitioned to county mental health programs.
(5) The percentage of program participants currently living in
permanent housing.
(b) The department shall prepare an analysis of the costs of the
supportive housing program in comparison to the cost savings to the
state as a result of reduced recidivism rates by program participants
using the information provided pursuant to subdivision (a). This
analysis shall exclude from consideration any federal funds provided
for services while the program participant is on parole in order to
ensure that the analysis accurately reflects only the costs to the
state for the services provided to program participants.
(c) The department shall annually submit, on or before February 1,
the information collected pursuant to subdivision (a) and the
analysis prepared pursuant to subdivision (b) to the chairs of the
Joint Legislative Budget Committee, the Senate Committee on Budget
and Fiscal Review, the Assembly Committee on Budget, the Senate and
Assembly Committees on Public Safety, the Senate Committee on
Transportation and Housing, and the Assembly Committee on Housing and
Community Development.
