Code Section

5848.51.  

(a) The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:

(1) Community alternatives should be expanded to reduce the need for mental health and substance use disorder treatment in jails and prisons.

(2) The number of people with serious mental illnesses incarcerated in county jails and the state’s prison system continues to rise.

(3) A significant number of individuals with serious mental illness have a co-occurring substance use disorder.

(4) The treatment and recovery of individuals with mental health disorders and substance use disorders are important for all levels of government, business, and the local community.

(b) Funds appropriated by the Legislature to the authority for the purposes of this section shall be used to establish a competitive grant program designed to promote diversion programs and services by increasing and expanding mental health treatment facilities, substance use disorder treatment facilities, and trauma-centered service facilities, including facilities providing services for sex trafficking victims, domestic violence victims, and victims of other violent crimes, in local communities, through the provision of infrastructure grants.

(c) Grant awards made by the authority shall be used to expand local resources for facility acquisition or renovation, equipment acquisition, and applicable program startup or expansion costs to increase availability and capacity to diversion programs described in paragraph (b).

(d) Funds appropriated by the Legislature to the authority for the purposes of this section shall be made available to selected counties, city or county, or counties acting jointly.

(e) The authority shall develop selection criteria to expand local resources, including those described in subdivision (b), and processes for awarding grants after consulting with representatives and interested stakeholders from the mental health treatment community, substance use disorder treatment community, and trauma recovery center providers, including, but not limited to, county behavioral health directors, service providers, consumer organizations, and other appropriate interests, such as health care providers, law enforcement, trial courts, and formerly incarcerated individuals as determined by the authority. The authority shall monitor that grants result in cost-effective expansion of the number of community-based resources in regions and communities selected for funding. The authority shall also take into account at least the following criteria and factors when selecting recipients of grants and determining the amount of grant awards:

(1) Description of need, including, at a minimum, a comprehensive description of the project, community need, population to be served, linkage with other public systems of health and mental health care, linkage with local law enforcement, social services, and related assistance, as applicable, and a description of the request for funding.

(2) Ability to serve the target population, which includes individuals eligible for Medi-Cal and individuals eligible for county health and mental health services.

(3) Geographic areas or regions of the state to be eligible for grant awards, which may include rural, suburban, and urban areas, and may include use of the five regional designations utilized by the County Behavioral Health Directors Association of California.

(4) Level of community engagement and commitment to project completion.

(5) Financial support that, in addition to a grant that may be awarded by the authority, will be sufficient to complete and operate the project for which the grant from the authority is awarded.

(6) Ability to provide additional funding support to the project, including public or private funding, federal tax credits and grants, foundation support, and other collaborative efforts.

(7) Memorandum of understanding among project partners, if applicable.

(8) Information regarding the legal status of the collaborating partners, if applicable.

(9) Ability to measure key outcomes, including utilization of services, health and mental health outcomes, and cost benefit of the project.

(f) The authority shall determine maximum grant awards, which shall take into consideration the number of projects awarded to the grantee, as described in subdivision (c), and shall reflect reasonable costs for the project and geographic region. The authority may allocate a grant in increments contingent upon the phases of a project.

(g) Funds awarded by the authority pursuant to this section may be used to supplement, but not to supplant, existing financial and resource commitments of the grantee or any other member of a collaborative effort that has been awarded a grant.

(h) All projects that are awarded grants by the authority shall be completed within a reasonable period of time, to be determined by the authority. Funds shall not be released by the authority until the applicant demonstrates project readiness to the authority’s satisfaction. If the authority determines that a grant recipient has failed to complete the project under the terms specified in awarding the grant, the authority may require remedies, including the return of all or a portion of the grant.

(i) The authority may consult with a technical assistance entity, as described in paragraph (5) of subdivision (a) of Section 4061, for the purposes of implementing this section.

(j) The authority may adopt emergency regulations relating to the grants for the capital capacity and program expansion projects described in this section, including emergency regulations that define eligible costs and determine minimum and maximum grant amounts.

(k) (1) The authority shall provide reports to the fiscal and policy committees of the Legislature on or before April 1, 2018, and annually until April 1, 2020, on the progress of implementation that include, but are not limited to, the following:

(A) A description of each project awarded funding.

(B) The amount of each grant issued.

(C) A description of other sources of funding for each project.

(D) The total amount of grants issued.

(E) A description of project operation and implementation, including who is being served.

(2) The requirement for submitting a report imposed under this subdivision is inoperative on April 1, 2024, pursuant to Section 10231.5 of the Government Code.

(l) A recipient of a grant provided pursuant to paragraph (b) shall adhere to all applicable laws relating to scope of practice, licensure, certification, staffing, and building codes.