BILL ANALYSIS Ó
AB 1133
Page 1
Date of Hearing:
ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS
Jimmy Gomez, Chair
AB
1133 (Achadjian) - As Amended April 15, 2015
-----------------------------------------------------------------
|Policy |Education |Vote:|7 - 0 |
|Committee: | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
|-------------+-------------------------------+-----+-------------|
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
|-------------+-------------------------------+-----+-------------|
| | | | |
| | | | |
| | | | |
-----------------------------------------------------------------
Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: NoReimbursable: No
SUMMARY:
This bill establishes a four year pilot program, the
School-Based Early Mental Health Intervention and Prevention
Services Support Program (EMHI Support Program), to provide
outreach, free regional training, and technical assistance for
AB 1133
Page 2
local educational agencies in providing mental health services
at school sites. Specifically, this bill:
1)Requires the State Public Health Officer, in consultation with
the Superintendent of Public Instruction (SPI) and the
Director of the Department of Health Care Services (DHCS), to
establish a four-year pilot program to encourage and support
local decisions to provide funding for the eligible support
services.
2)Requires the Department of Public Health (DPH) to provide
outreach to local education agencies (LEAs) and county mental
health agencies to inform them of the program.
3)Requires DPH to provide free regional training on eligible
support services, including intervention and prevention
services, parent involvement, teacher and staff conferences
and training, referral to outside resources, and use of
paraprofessional staff, counselors, and social workers.
4)Requires DPH to also provide free regional training on how the
support services can help fulfill state priorities described
by the local control funding formula and local control and
accountability plans and how educational, mental health, and
other funds subject to local control can be used to finance
the eligible support services, as specified.
5)Requires DPH to provide technical assistance to LEAs that
provide or seek to provide eligible services. Technical
assistance includes assistance in designing programs, training
AB 1133
Page 3
staff, conducting evaluations, and leveraging funds that are
subject to local control.
6)Requires the DPH to select and support school sites as
follows:
a) Requires, during the first 18 months of the program, DPH
to support, strengthen, and expand the provision of
eligible services at 30 school sites that received funding
pursuant to the previously established School-Based EMHI
and Prevention Services Matching Grant Program and have
continued to provide eligible support services: and,
b) Requires the department, during the second 18 months of
the program, to select 30 new school sites that are not
providing eligible support services but that demonstrate
the willingness and capacity to participate in the program.
Requires DPH to work with these school sites to deliver
eligible support services. Requires the DPH to prioritize
geographic diversity, program effectiveness, program
efficiency, and long-term program sustainability.
1)Requires the DPH to submit an interim report to the
Legislature at the end of the second year of the pilot program
and to complete an evaluation at the end of the four year
pilot and submit it to the Legislature.
2)Expands the definition of eligible students to include
students who attend a preschool program at a publicly funded
AB 1133
Page 4
elementary school or who attends a publicly funded elementary
school and who is in kindergarten, transitional kindergarten,
or in grades one through three.
3)Sunsets the program on January 1, 2021.
FISCAL EFFECT:
General Fund administrative costs to the Department of Public
Health (DPH) of at least $315,000 to establish the EMHI Support
Program and provide outreach, free regional training, and
technical assistance to 60 school sites over four years. DPH
would also incur costs related to interim reporting requirements
and final evaluation of the pilot project.
COMMENTS:
1)Background. Between 1991 and 2011, the state Department of
Mental Health (DMH) operated the Early Mental Health
Initiative (EMHI). Beginning with the 1997-98 fiscal year,
the state provided $15 million (Proposition 98/GF) in matching
grant funds to approximately 150 programs. Funds were
primarily used to hire trained paraprofessionals (aides) to
meet with children identified as needing support services.
Aides generally meet with each child, or group of children,
for 30 to 40 minutes, once a week to play games, draw or talk.
Small group settings also allow children to develop skills
such as making friends and resolving conflicts.
In 2012, DMH was eliminated and programs under the
department's jurisdiction were transferred to the Department
AB 1133
Page 5
of Health Care Services. In the same year, the governor
redirected Proposition 98 funds to local education agencies.
The following year the state created the Local Control Funding
Formula (LCFF) and eliminated approximately three quarters of
all K-12 categorical programs, representing a significant
shift away from state control and toward local
decision-making.
2)Purpose. According to the author, this bill would help LEAs
maximize the use of funds that are under local control for
EMHI programs. The author states that the earlier these
children are connected to services, the more successful they
might become later in life.
The Steinberg Institute and Autism Deserves Equal Coverage
support this prevention and early intervention pilot program
which seeks to help students from preschool to third grade
through the delivery of EMHI services, which have proven
successful over the years.
Analysis Prepared by:Misty Feusahrens / APPR. / (916) 319-2081