Today's Law As Amended


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SB-331 Suicide prevention: strategic plans.(2019-2020)



As Amends the Law Today


SECTION 1.
 (a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(1) The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports that suicides are increasing across the United States.
(2) Over the 10-year period between 2007 and 2016, California has experienced a constant rise in deaths by suicide, with the exception of one year, 2012, in which there was a slight decrease in deaths by suicide. Over the same 10-year period, almost 40,000 Californians died by suicide.
(3) Since 2009, only seven counties in California, the Counties of Contra Costa, Fresno, San Diego, San Mateo, Santa Clara, Solano, and Tuolumne, have adopted a suicide-prevention strategic plan, with two additional counties, the Counties of Marin and Santa Cruz, recently convening workgroups to develop a suicide-prevention strategic plan.
(4) As part of the early intervention component included in the Mental Health Services Act, counties are required to emphasize strategies that reduce suicides.
(5) The County of Santa Clara, which has had a concerted suicide-prevention effort since 2010, and has implemented a suicide-prevention strategic plan, has seen an 11- to 14-percent decrease in suicide deaths, while the overall suicide rate in California is increasing.
(b) It is the intent of the Legislature in enacting this act to require counties to implement suicide-prevention strategic plans and reduce the suicide rate in California.

SEC. 2.

 Section 4098.6 is added to the Welfare and Institutions Code, to read:

4098.6.
 (a) Counties shall create and implement a suicide-prevention strategic plan. The strategic plan shall place particular emphasis on preventing suicide in children who are less than 19 years of age and shall include, at a minimum, all of the following:
(1) A description of the scope of the problem in the county.
(2) Long-term suicide-prevention goals.
(3) Key risks of, preventive factors for, and protective factors of, suicide prevention.
(4) Selection or development of interventions to be used to prevent suicide.
(5) A plan to evaluate the success of the strategic plan.
(b) In developing a suicide-prevention strategic plan, counties shall consult with stakeholders including, but not limited to, schools, health care organizations, youth justice organizations, and other multisector teams with the goal of reducing suicides in the counties in which they operate.
(c) As part of the strategic-planning process, counties shall provide recommendations to individuals and organizations working with youth on early intervention, implementation of crisis management systems, and addressing suicide risk for vulnerable populations; collect and analyze data; engage in strategic communications; and educate individuals and organizations working with youth on suicide-prevention strategies and local suicide-prevention needs.
(d) Counties shall update the suicide-prevention strategic plan every three years to reflect innovations and developments in the field of suicide prevention.
(e) This section does not apply to a county that had a suicide-prevention strategic plan on January 1, 2020, that meets the requirements of this section.
(f) A county may, to the extent it is consistent with and authorized by the Mental Health Services Act, use Mental Health Services Act funds to implement this section.
(g) This section shall be implemented by a county only if an appropriation is made in the annual Budget Act or another measure for purposes of this section, or if the county uses Mental Health Services Act funds pursuant to subdivision (f).
SEC. 3.
 If the Commission on State Mandates determines that this act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of the Government Code.