Mental Health Services Act: Behavioral Health and Justice Center of Excellence.

Existing law sets forth various procedures relating to medical treatment of inmates in county jails, including, among other things, involuntary commitment and treatment of a person who is a danger to oneself or others and voluntary application for inpatient or outpatient mental health services. Existing law, the Mental Health Services Act, an initiative measure enacted by the voters as Proposition 63 at the November 2, 2004, statewide general election, establishes the Mental Health Services Fund, a continuously appropriated fund, to fund various county mental health programs. The MHSA authorizes up to 5% of the fund to be used for administrative implementation by the State Department of Health Care Services and the Mental Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission, which the MHSA creates, among other entities, and subjects funds used for this purpose to appropriation in the annual Budget Act. The MHSA provides that it may be amended by the Legislature by a 23 vote of each house so long as the amendment is consistent with and furthers the intent of the act, and authorizes the Legislature to amend the act to clarify procedures and terms of the act by majority vote. This bill would require, on or before January 1, 2023, the State Department of Health Care Services, in consultation with the Council on Criminal Justice and Behavioral Health and the Mental Health Services Oversight and Accountability Commission, and in partnership with the University of California, to establish and maintain the Behavioral Health and Justice Center of Excellence to provide counties and local agencies with centralized access to data, training, resources, and services to aid in the facilitation and coordination of efforts to serve individuals with mental illness who are involved in the criminal justice system. The bill would require the department to partner with the University of California to have multiple branch locations at the various University of California campuses across the state, and to be staffed with trained multidisciplinary teams, as specified. The bill would require those centers of excellence to be funded with state administrative funds provided under the act. By authorizing a new use of MHSA moneys, this bill would amend the MHSA. This bill would declare that this amendment is consistent with and furthers the purposes of the act.