Suicide prevention: strategic plans.

Existing law, the California Suicide Prevention Act of 2000, authorizes the State Department of Health Care Services to establish and implement a suicide prevention, education, and gatekeeper training program to reduce the severity, duration, and incidence of suicidal behaviors. This bill would require counties to create and implement, and update every 3 years, a suicide-prevention strategic plan that places particular emphasis on preventing suicide in children who are less than 19 years of age and includes specified components, including long-term suicide-prevention goals and the selection or development of interventions to be used to prevent suicide. The bill would require counties, as part of the planning process to, among other things, provide recommendations to individuals and organizations working with youth on early intervention, implementation of crisis management systems, and addressing suicide risk for vulnerable populations. The bill would make these provisions inapplicable to a county that had a suicide-prevention strategic plan on January 1, 2020, that meets these requirements. By creating a new duty for counties, 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, establishes the continuously appropriated Mental Health Services Fund to fund various county mental health programs. This bill, to the extent it is consistent with and authorized by the MHSA, would authorize counties to use MHSA funds to implement the above-described provisions. The bill would condition implementation of its provisions by a county on an appropriation by the Legislature or the county using MHSA funds, as described above. 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.