Mental health: funding.

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, funds a system of county mental health plans for the provision of mental health services, as specified. The act establishes the Mental Health Services Fund, which is continuously appropriated to, and administered by, the State Department of Health Care Services to fund specified county mental health programs, including innovative programs with the purpose of, among other things, increasing the quality of, and access to, services. This bill would appropriate $16,000,000 from the General Fund to the State Department of Health Care Services to distribute to the North Orange County Public Safety Task Force for the development of a 2-year pilot program. The bill would require 12 of the moneys to be distributed on January 1, 2020, and 12 to be distributed on January 1, 2021, and would require the moneys to be used to provide a range of programs, services, and activities designed to assist individuals and families experiencing mental health crises. The bill would require the task force to submit a report to the Legislature by July 1, 2021, and again by July 1, 2022, documenting the findings and outcomes of the pilot program.