SB 275: Alcohol and drug treatment: youth.

Existing law consolidated within the State Department of Health Care Services all substance use disorder functions and programs from the former State Department of Alcohol and Drug Programs.

The existing Adolescent Alcohol and Drug Treatment and Recovery Program Act of 1998, which authorized the State Department of Alcohol and Drug programs to establish community-based nonresidential and residential recovery programs to intervene and treat the problems of alcohol and other drug use among youth, became inoperative on July 1, 2013.

This bill would repeal those inoperative provisions and would enact the Children, Adolescents, and Young Adults Substance Use Disorder Treatment Act. The bill would require the department to convene an expert panel on or before January 1, 2020, to advise the department solely on the development of youth substance use disorder (SUD) treatment quality standards, as specified. The bill would require the department, on or before July 1, 2021, to adopt regulations to establish youth SUD treatment quality standards, as specified. The bill would require each county to designate a single public agency that is responsible for administering the provision of youth SUD treatment services within that county. The bill would require the agency to, among other things, ensure, in conjunction with the county office of education and other local education agencies, that all programs in the county providing youth SUD prevention and treatment services are providing coordinated services. By requiring additional duties of local governments, this bill would create a state-mandated local program.

The bill would additionally define youth SUD treatment services as including any publicly funded direct services intended to treat substance use disorders for individuals from birth to 26 years of age, inclusive. The bill would require a public agency or private entity that provides youth SUD treatment services after January 1, 2022, to comply with the standards adopted by the department and would limit which entities may provide youth SUD treatment services. The bill would, after July 1, 2022, require youth SUD treatment programs to be certified in accordance with the regulations adopted by the department. The bill would prohibit a county from contracting to provide youth SUD treatment services with an entity that does not comply with these provisions. The bill would require the department to report to the Legislature regarding the standards on or before January 1, 2023, and annually thereafter.

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.