Mental health professions: CARE Scholarship Program.

Existing law, the Community Assistance, Recovery, and Empowerment (CARE) Act, authorizes specified adult persons to petition a civil court to create a voluntary CARE agreement or a court-ordered CARE plan and implement services, to be provided by county behavioral health agencies, to provide behavioral health care, including stabilization medication, housing, and other enumerated services, to adults who are currently experiencing a severe mental illness and have a diagnosis identified in the disorder class schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders, and who meet other specified criteria. Existing law requires the Department of Health Care Access and Information to perform various duties with respect to implementing health professions scholarship and loan programs. This bill would, upon appropriation, establish the Community Assistance, Recovery, and Empowerment (CARE) Scholarship Program. The bill would require the department to administer the annual scholarship for purposes of increasing the number of culturally competent marriage and family therapists, clinical social workers, professional clinical counselors, and psychologists, as specified. The bill would require scholarship recipients to agree to work for county behavioral health agencies in meeting their needs and obligations to implement the CARE Act for a minimum of 3 years upon degree completion. The bill would require the department to post information related to the scholarship on its internet website.