(a) The Council on Criminal Justice and Behavioral Health is hereby established within the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. The council shall be composed of 12 members, one of whom shall be the secretary of the department who shall be designated as the chairperson, one of whom shall be the Director of State Hospitals, one of whom shall be the Director of Health Care Services, and nine of whom shall be appointed. The Governor shall appoint three members, at least one of whom shall represent behavioral health. The Senate Committee on Rules shall appoint two members, one representing law enforcement and one representing behavioral health. The Speaker of the Assembly shall appoint two members, one representing law enforcement and one representing behavioral health. The Attorney General shall appoint one member. The Chief Justice of the California Supreme Court shall appoint one member who shall be a superior court judge. When selecting appointments, experience with the criminal justice or behavioral health systems, or both, either personally, as a family member, or as a caregiver, is encouraged.
(b) The council shall select a vice chairperson from among its members. Six members of the council shall constitute a quorum.
(c) The Director of State Hospitals and the Director of Health Care Services shall serve as the liaison to the California Health and Human Services Agency and any departments within that agency necessary to further the purposes of this article.
(d) Members of the council shall receive no compensation, but shall be reimbursed for actual and necessary travel expenses incurred in the performance of their duties. For purposes of compensation, attendance at meetings of the board shall be deemed performance by a member of the duties of his or her state or local government employment.
(e) The goal of the council shall be to investigate and promote cost-effective approaches to meeting the long-term needs of adults and juveniles with behavioral health disorders who are likely to become offenders or who have a history of offending. The council shall:
(1) Identify strategies for preventing adults and juveniles with behavioral health needs from becoming offenders.
(2) Identify strategies for improving the cost-effectiveness of services for adults and juveniles with behavioral health needs who have a history of offending.
(3) Identify incentives to encourage state and local criminal justice, juvenile justice, and behavioral health programs to adopt cost-effective approaches for serving adults and juveniles with behavioral health needs who are likely to offend or who have a history of offending.
(f) The council shall consider strategies that:
(1) Improve service coordination among state and local behavioral health, criminal justice, and juvenile justice programs.
(2) Improve the ability of adult and juvenile offenders with behavioral health needs to transition successfully between corrections-based, juvenile justice-based, and community-based treatment programs.
(g) The Secretary of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, the Director of State Hospitals, and the Director of Health Care Services may furnish for the use of the council those facilities, supplies, and personnel as may be available therefor. The council may secure the assistance of any state agency, department, or instrumentality in the course of its work.
(h) (1) The Council on Criminal Justice and Behavioral Health shall file with the Legislature, not later than December 31 of each year, a report that shall provide details of the council’s activities during the preceding year. The report shall include recommendations for improving the cost-effectiveness of behavioral health and criminal justice programs.
(2) After the first year of operation, the council may recommend to the Legislature and Governor modifications to its jurisdiction, composition, and membership that will further the purposes of this article.
(i) The Council on Criminal Justice and Behavioral Health is authorized to apply for any funds that may be available from the federal government or other sources to further the purposes of this article.
(j) (1) For purposes of this article, the council shall address the needs of adults and juveniles who meet the following criteria: persons who have been arrested, detained, incarcerated, or are at a significant risk of being arrested, detained, or incarcerated, and who have a mental disorder as defined in Section 1830.205 of Title 9 of the California Code of Regulations or who receive substance use disorder services as defined in Section 51341.1 of Title 22 of the California Code of Regulations that have been determined to be medically necessary pursuant to Section 51303 of Title 22 of the California Code of Regulations, or both.
(2) The council may expand its purview to allow it to identify strategies that are preventive in nature and could be directed to identifiable categories of adults and juveniles that fall outside of the above definitions.
(Amended by Stats. 2017, Ch. 269, Sec. 11. (SB 811) Effective January 1, 2018.)
Last modified: October 25, 2018