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AB-2411 Local Youth Mental Health Boards.(2023-2024)

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Date Published: 04/01/2024 09:00 PM
AB2411:v98#DOCUMENT

Amended  IN  Assembly  April 01, 2024

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2023–2024 REGULAR SESSION

Assembly Bill
No. 2411

Introduced by Assembly Member Wendy Carrillo
(Principal coauthor: Senator Cortese)

February 12, 2024

An act to add Chapter 1.2 (commencing with Section 5625) to Part 2 of Division 5 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, relating to mental health.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


AB 2411, as amended, Wendy Carrillo. Local Youth Mental Health Boards.
Existing law, the Bronzan-McCorquodale Act, contains provisions governing the operation and financing of community mental health services for the mentally disordered in every county through locally administered and locally controlled community mental health programs.
This bill would require each community mental health service to have a local youth mental health board (board), appointed as specified, consisting of members between 15 and 23 years of age, inclusive, at least 1/2 of whom are, to the extent possible, mental health consumers who are receiving, or have received, mental health services, or siblings or close family members of mental health consumers and 1/2 of whom are, to the extent possible, enrolled in schools in the county. The bill would require the board, among other duties, to review and evaluate the local public mental health system and advise the governing body and school district governing bodies on mental health services related to youth that are delivered by the local mental health agency or local behavioral health agency, school districts, or others, as applicable. The bill, upon appropriation by the Legislature, bill would require the governing body to include the board in the county planning process and provide a budget for the board sufficient to facilitate the purposes, duties, and responsibilities of the board. By increasing the duties of local governments, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
Existing law, the Mental Health Services Act (MHSA), an initiative measure enacted by the voters as Proposition 63 at the November 2, 2004, statewide general election, among other things, establishes the Mental Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission. Existing law, the Behavioral Health Services Act (BHSA), approved by the voters as Proposition 1 at the March 5, 2024, statewide primary election, commencing January 1, 2025, revises and recasts the MHSA by, among other things, renaming the commission the Behavioral Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission and changing the duties of the commission to include promoting transformational change in California’s behavioral health system through research, evaluation and tracking outcomes, and other strategies to assess and report progress.
This bill would require the commission, on or before December 30, 2027, and once every 5 years thereafter, to assess the extent to which the local youth mental health boards have been established and to make recommendations on ways to strengthen the youth voice to support appropriate behavioral health services.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to the statutory provisions noted above.
Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: YES  

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:


SECTION 1.

 The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a) Mental health needs are the most common and disabling medical conditions affecting children.
(b) Mental health needs in youth have increased in recent years nationally and have been further exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
(c) Based on national and state prevalence rates, between 620,000 and 1,240,000 of California’s 6,200,000 students enrolled in K-12 K–12 schools are estimated to have a mental health condition.
(d) One-half of all lifetime mental health needs emerge before 14 years of age, and three-quarters before 24 years of age.
(e) Almost one in five youth report having seriously considered suicide in the past year.
(f) Suicide is the second leading cause of death for youth.
(g) Many children suffer without help. Approximately one-half to three-quarters do not receive mental health treatment or services. For children living in low-income households with limited English proficiency, unmet mental health needs are even greater.
(h) Other student groups, such as LGBTQ students and Muslim students, experience high rates of bullying, harassment, and victimization. Muslim students are twice as likely as their peers to report they are bullied. LGBTQ students are twice as likely as average to report depression symptomology and are three times more likely to report suicidal ideation.
(i) Nationally, 22 percent of Latino youth have depressive symptoms, a rate higher than any minority group besides Native American youth. The United States Office of Minority Health has found that Latina adolescents have the highest rates of suicidal ideation and suicide attempts, and, while lower than Latinas, Latino adolescent males have higher rates of suicidal ideation and suicide attempts than their White peers.
(j) Students in foster care, African American students and Native American students are more likely to be suspended or expelled than other groups of students. African American, Native American, and Pacific Islander students are more than twice as likely as their peers to be chronically absent.
(k) Youth involvement in mental health programming leads to better quality services that are responsive to the needs of youth.
(l) To date, only one out of every seven California counties has established children or youth behavioral health advisory committees. This represents an unrealized opportunity to engage youth in the community planning process for mental health services for youth.
(m) Providing youth with opportunities to make meaningful contributions to their schools and communities through participation and leadership in various settings contributes to positive youth development and is likely to support improved youth engagement with appropriate behavioral health services.

SEC. 2.

 Chapter 1.2 (commencing with Section 5625) is added to Part 2 of Division 5 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, to read:
CHAPTER  1.2. Youth Mental Health Boards

5625.
 (a) (1) Each community mental health service shall have a local youth mental health board (board) consisting of eight or more members, as determined by the governing body, and appointed by the governing body, except that boards in counties with a population of fewer than 80,000 may have a minimum of five members.
(2) (A) The board shall serve in an advisory role to the governing body, governing bodies of school districts within the county, the county office of education, and other public entities and officials within the county, as determined by the board.
(B) Board membership shall include county residents between 15 and 23 years of age, inclusive, and should reflect the diversity of the population in the county, including race, ethnicity, sexual orientation, and gender identity, to the extent possible.
(C) To the extent possible, one-half or more of the board membership shall be mental health consumers who are receiving, or have received, mental health services, or siblings or close family members of mental health consumers, as determined by the governing board.
(D) To the extent possible, one-half or more of the board members shall be enrolled in school in the county.
(3) In counties with a population of fewer than 80,000, at least two members shall be consumers who are receiving, or who have received, mental health services.
(b) The board, at its discretion, may meet concurrently with and advise the board established pursuant to Section 5604 on matters pertaining to meeting the mental health needs of youth.
(c) The board is established to inform decisions by the governing body, school districts, the county office of education, and other governmental and nongovernmental bodies involved with the community mental health service, as determined by the board.
(d) The board shall review and evaluate the local public mental health system, pursuant to Section 5604.2, and advise the county and school district governing bodies on mental health services related to youth that are delivered by the local mental health agency or local behavioral health agency, school districts, or others, as applicable.
(e) The term of each member of the board shall be for no less than two years and no more than three years. The governing body shall equitably stagger appointments so that an equal number of appointments, to the extent possible, expire in each year.
(f) If two or more local agencies jointly establish a community mental health service pursuant to Article 1 (commencing with Section 6500) of Chapter 5 of Division 7 of Title 1 of the Government Code, the board for the community mental health service shall consist of an additional five members for each additional agency, with equal representation from each local agency to the extent possible.
(g) A member of the board or the member’s spouse, parent, or sibling shall not be a full-time or part-time employee of a county mental health service, an employee of the State Department of Health Care Services, or an employee or a member of the governing body of a mental health contract agency doing business in the local jurisdiction.
(h) Members of the board shall abstain from voting on any issue in which the member has a financial interest, as defined in Section 87103 of the Government Code.
(i) The board may be established as an advisory board or a commission, depending on the preference of the county.

5626.
 A local youth mental health advisory board shall be subject to the provisions of Chapter 9 (commencing with Section 54950) of Part 1 of Division 2 of Title 5 of the Government Code, relating to meetings of local agencies.

5627.
 (a) The local youth mental health board may do all of the following:
(1) Review and evaluate the community’s youth mental health needs, services, and related challenges and opportunities, as determined by the board.
(2) Review county agreements affecting youth entered into pursuant to Section 5650. The board may make recommendations to the governing body regarding concerns identified within these agreements.
(3) Advise the governing body and the local mental health director as to any aspect of the local mental health program relating to youth. The board may request assistance from the local patients’ rights advocates, local agencies, the grand jury, and others when reviewing and advising on mental health evaluations or services provided in facilities with limited access.
(4) Review and advise on the procedures used to ensure youth involvement at all stages of the mental health planning process.

(4)

(5) Submit an annual report to the county governing body, school districts, and other local governing bodies, where relevant, on the needs and performance of the county’s mental health system as it relates to the needs of youth, with recommendations for improvement as needed.
(6) Review and comment on the county’s performance outcome data as it relates to youth and communicate its findings to the California Behavioral Health Planning Council and the Behavioral Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission.
(b) This section does not limit the ability of the governing body to transfer additional duties or authority to a local youth mental health board.

5627.5.
 The Behavioral Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission shall, on or before December 30, 2027, and once every five years thereafter, assess the extent to which the local youth mental health boards have been established consistent with the intent of this enactment and shall make recommendations on ways to strengthen the youth voice to support appropriate behavioral health services.

5628.
 (a) The governing body shall assign staff to support the local youth mental health board and pay, from any available funds, the actual and necessary expenses of the members of the local youth mental health board incurred incident to the performance of their official duties and functions. The expenses may include travel, lodging, childcare, and meals for the members of a youth mental health board while on official business, as approved by the director of the local mental health program.
(b) The governing body shall include the local youth mental health board in the county planning process.

(b)Upon appropriation by the Legislature, the

(c) The governing body shall provide a budget for the local youth mental health board that is sufficient to facilitate the purposes, duties, and responsibilities of the youth mental health board. The governing body may use planning and administrative revenues or other county funds for this purpose.

5629.
 The local youth mental health board shall develop bylaws to be approved by the governing body that do all of the following:
(a) Establish the specific number of members on the youth mental health board, consistent with subdivision (a) of Section 5625.
(b) Ensure that the composition of the local youth mental health board represents and reflects the diversity and demographics of the county as a whole, consistent with subdivision (a) of Section 5625, to the extent feasible.
(c) Establish that a quorum be one person more than one-half of the appointed members.
(d) Establish that the chairperson of the local youth mental health board be in consultation with the local mental health director.

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.