Date of Hearing: August 14, 2019

ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS

Lorena Gonzalez, Chair

SBPCA Bill Id:SB 282

Author:(Beall) – As Amended Ver:May 17, 2019

Urgency: No State Mandated Local Program: No Reimbursable: No

SUMMARY:

This bill eliminates the Integrated Services for Mentally Ill Parolees (ISMIP) within the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) and replaces it with the Supportive Housing Program for Persons on Parole (SHPPP) to be administered by the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD). Specifically, this bill:

1. Instructs CDCR to transfer all funds appropriated from the General Fund to the ISMIP program to HCD on an annual basis, and requires CDCR to work with HCD to establish a process to refer eligible participants into the program, including participants from the ISMIP program upon the repeal of the ISMIP program.
2. States that HCD shall create a program to provide grants to counties to fund permanent supportive housing and wraparound services to people on parole experiencing mental illness and homelessness or risk of homelessness upon release from prison, using funding currently used for the ISMIP program.
3. Requires HCD to issue guidelines establishing the grant program and a notice of funding availability or request for proposals for five-year renewable grants to counties. Requires applicants for the grants to demonstrate viable plans to provide permanent supportive housing, mental health treatment, and services to participants.

FISCAL EFFECT:

1. Possible cost pressures (GF) in excess of $150,000 in the event funding for ISMIP is not sufficient to fully fund SHPPP. This bill shifts approximately $14 million dollars in GF appropriation from CDCR to HCD. The SHPPP is focused on supportive housing for parolees rather than a combination of mental health and housing while shifting mental health services to federally-funded Medi-Cal. To the extent that funding provided under the ISMIP program is insufficient to fully fund the SHPPP program, the bill could result in additional General Fund cost pressures.
   
2. Costs (GF) of approximately $1.8 million in FY 2020-21 and $1.7 million dollars annually thereafter for HCD to administer the new SHPPP program, including developing and adopting guidelines, conducting outreach, issuing notices for funding, evaluating applications, awarding grants, providing technical assistance and performing ongoing monitoring.
   
3. Costs (GF) of approximately $119,000 to CDCR in staff costs to coordinate the referral of eligible participants into the new SHPPP and provide data regarding recidivism.
   

COMMENTS:

1. Purpose. According to the author:

There is a strong link between incarceration and homelessness. …SB 282 seeks to reduce recidivism rates by addressing the pressing need of supportive housing and wrap-around services for individuals on parole with mental health needs.

1. ISMIP. AB 900 (Solorio), Chapter 7 Statutes of 2007, added Penal Code §3073, which authorized CDCR to contract for day treatment programming, defined as mental health rehabilitative services, to target individual needs of mentally ill parolees and crisis intervention. Subsequently, in 2012, SB 1021 (Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review) (Chapter 41, Statutes of 2012) was enacted, which specified the ISMIP Program requirements, including the addition of providing housing subsidies and housing linkage to supplement the Parolee Outpatient Clinic Program. The ISMIP Program is intended to provide comprehensive mental health and supportive services, including housing subsidies, to parolees who suffer from mental illness and are at risk of homelessness. CDCR pays for housing and housing-based services as part of this program.
   
   This bill is not operable until the Department of Finance (DOF), in consultation with the Legislative Analyst’s Office, determines that there is sufficient funding to HCD. In this year’s budget, the Legislature allocated $16.5 million dollars to the Board of State and Community Corrections, a sub-entity of CDCR, for ISMIP. The budget item states that the money is intended for rental assistance, with a directive that priority shall be given to individuals released to state parole. This bill would require the Legislature to re-direct those funds to HCD as soon as possible to address housing and mental health needs for individuals released after this bill is signed but before full funding occurs.
   
2. Prior Legislation. SB 1010 (Beall), of the 2017-18 Legislative Session would have required CDCR to establish a supportive housing pilot program for mentally ill parolees who are homeless or at risk of homelessness. SB 1010 was held on this committee’s Suspense File.
   

Analysis Prepared by: Kimberly Horiuchi / APPR. / (916) 319-2081

Date of Hearing: July 3, 2019

ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON HOUSING AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT

David Chiu, Chair

SBPCA Bill Id:SB 282

Author:(Beall) – As Amended Ver:May 17, 2019

SENATE VOTE: 38-0

SUBJECT: Supportive housing for parolees

SUMMARY: Eliminates the Integrated Services for Mentally Ill Parolees (ISMIP) and replaces it with the Supportive Housing Program for Persons on Parole to be administered by the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD). Specifically, this bill:

1. Instructs the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) to transfer all funds appropriated from the General Fund to the ISMIP program to HCD on an annual basis, and requires CDCR to work with HCD to establish a process to refer eligible participants into the program, including participants from the ISMIP program upon the repeal of the ISMIP program.
   
2. States that HCD shall create a program to provide grants to counties to fund permanent supportive housing and wraparound services to people on parole experiencing mental illness and homelessness or risk of homelessness upon release from prison, using funding currently used for the ISMIP program.
   
3. Requires HCD to issue guidelines establishing the grant program and a notice of funding availability or request for proposals for five-year renewable grants to counties. Requires applicants for the grants to demonstrate viable plans to provide permanent supportive housing, mental health treatment, and services to participants.
   
4. Requires HCD to establish criteria to score counties applying for grant funds.
   
5. Makes a person on parole eligible for the program if all of the following are applicable: (1) the person has a serious mental disorder, as defined; (2) the individual voluntarily chooses to participate; (3) either of the following applies: (i) the individual has been assigned a date of release within 60 to 180 days and is likely to become homeless upon release, or (ii) the person is currently experiencing homelessness as a person on parole.
   
6. States that a participant shall continue to receive housing and services funded under the program after discharge from parole, so long as the participant needs this assistance.
   
7. States that applicants shall use program funds for rental assistance, subsidies for new and existing affordable housing, housing navigation services, and incentives to landlords such as security deposits. Other funded activities include coordinating with state prisons to obtain information about, and prepare to provide housing to persons who will be released.
   
8. States that providers shall identify and locate supportive housing opportunities for participants prior to release from state prison or as quickly as possible upon release from state prison or as quickly as possible when participants are identified during parole.
   
9. Requires HCD execute contracts with awarded entities for a term of five years, subject to renewal. After a contract has expired pursuant to this subdivision, any funds not expended for eligible activities shall revert to the HCD for use for the program.
   
10. Requires a recipient of the program an annual report to HCD on a form issued by the department, pertaining to the recipient’s program or project selection process, contract expenditures, and progress toward meeting state and local goals, as demonstrated by the performance measures set forth in the application.
    
11. States that this chapter shall become operative upon a determination by the Department of Finance, in consultation with the Legislative Analyst’s Office, that sufficient funding has been appropriated by the Legislature to the HCD for the purposes of the new program. Upon making a determination that sufficient funding has been appropriated, the Department of Finance shall notify the Joint Legislative Budget Committee.
    
12. Defines “housing navigation” to mean “services provided prior to release or in the community that assist program participants with all of the following: (1) Locating permanent housing with private market landlords or property managers who are willing to accept rental assistance or operating subsidies for the program participants; (2) Assisting participants in obtaining local, state, or federal rental assistance or subsidies; (3) Completing housing applications for permanent housing and, when applicable, rental assistance or subsidies; (4) Move-in assistance; (5) Obtaining documentation needed to access permanent housing and rental assistance or subsidies.”
    
13. Defines “permanent housing” to mean “a structure or set of structures with subsidized or unsubsidized rental housing units subject to applicable landlord-tenant law, without a limit on the length of stay and without a requirement to participate in supportive services as a condition of access to or continued occupancy of the housing.”
    
14. Defines “permanent supportive housing” to mean “permanent housing without a limit on the length of stay that is linked to onsite or offsite services that assist the supportive housing residents in retaining the housing, improving the participant’s health status, and maximizing the participant’s ability to live and, when possible, work in the community.”

EXISTING STATE LAW:

1. Authorizes CDCR to obtain day treatment, and to contract for crisis care services, for parolees with mental health problems. States that day treatment and crisis care services should be designed to reduce parolee recidivism. Requires CDCR to work with counties to obtain day treatment and crisis care services for parolees with the goal of extending the services upon completion of the offender’s period of parole, if needed. (Pen. Code, § 3073.)
2. Defines “serious mental disorder” as “a mental disorder that is severe in degree and persistent in duration, which may cause behavioral functioning which interferes substantially with the primary activities of daily living, and which may result in an inability to maintain stable adjustment and independent functioning without treatment, support, and rehabilitation for a long or indefinite period of time. Serious mental disorders include, but are not limited to, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, as well as major affective disorders or other severely disabling mental disorders.” (Welf. & Inst. Code, § 5600.3, subd. (b)(1).)

Declares that it is the intent of the Legislature to provide evidence-based, comprehensive mental health and supportive services, including housing subsidies, to parolees who suffer from mental illness and are at risk of homelessness, in order to successfully reintegrate the parolees into the community, increase public safety, and reduce state costs of recidivism. Establishes the supportive housing program for mentally ill parolees who are at risk of homelessness. (Pen. Code, § 2985 et seq.)

FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown.

COMMENTS:

Purpose of this bill: According to the author, “There is a strong link between incarceration and homelessness. People on parole who are homeless are seven times more likely to reoffend than those housed. This leads to a cycle of incarceration and homelessness. Stable housing reduces recidivism, strengthens our communities, and promotes equity. Formerly incarcerated individuals are almost 10 times more likely to experience homelessness. An Ohio program demonstrates formerly homeless parolees living in supportive housing have a 60% lower recidivism rate than those who are homeless. New York supportive housing programs show lower recidivism rates, lower Medicaid costs, and lower arrest rates among supportive housing tenants than those still homeless. Lastly, California data indicates supportive housing tenants are able to decrease their days incarcerated by over 60%.

“The Legislature established the Integrated Services for Mentally Ill Parolees (ISMIP) program in California’s 2007-08 budget to address this pressing crisis. However, the current program is not in line with the Legislature’s intent. A 2017 UCLA study found ISMIP fails to significantly reduce recidivism. CDCR uses ISMIP funds to pay one-hundred percent of the cost of mental health treatment to a small number of parolees, instead of enrolling them into Medi-Cal where they can draw down a federal match of 50-90%.

“SB 282 seeks to reduce recidivism rates by addressing the pressing need of supportive housing and wrap-around services for individuals on parole with mental health needs. The bill redirects ISMIP funding toward the Supportive Housing Program for Persons on Parole Program, and requires the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) to administer grants to counties working to break the cycle of incarceration and homelessness using evidence-based, culturally competent models, and ensuring participants access mental health and substance use disorder treatment through Medi-Cal.”

Eliminating and Replacing the ISMIP: ISMIP was established in 2007 with AB 900 (Solorio) which authorized CDCR to obtain day treatment and to contract for crisis care services for parolees with mental health problems in order to reduce recidivism. In 2012, SB 1021 (Com. on Budget) expanded the ISMIP program. An analysis of SB 1021 described the program as “a supportive housing program that provides wraparound services to mentally ill parolees who are at risk of homelessness” and summarized the provisions of SB 1021 pertaining to the program as “improv[ing] the program by strengthening the housing component and prioritizing contracts with providers that can help provide a continuum of care after the offender is off of parole.” (Sen. Rules Com., Off. of Sen. Floor Analyses, Unfinished Business Analysis of Sen. Bill 1021 (2011-2012 Reg. Sess.), as amended Jun. 25, 2012, p. 4.)

The proponents of this bill argue the ISMIP funds have not been used as the Legislature intended, citing to a 2017 UCLA study. Specifically, they assert that ISMIP funds have been used to serve a small number of parolees, and that the program is not focused on parolees who are homeless or at risk of homelessness.

This bill would eliminate ISMIP, and redirect its funds to the Supportive Housing Program for Persons on Parole to be administered by HDC. CDCR would refer eligible parolees to the program, and the program’s funds would be administered by HCD as grants to the counties. This bill would establish the duties of HCD in creating and operationalizing the program, delineates eligibility criteria for participation in the program, specifies appropriate uses of program funds, and enumerates services that must be provided to program participants. This bill would also include various reporting requirements, evaluations, and monitoring of grant recipients for compliance with program requirements.

Funding: This bill is not operable until the Department of Finance (DOF), in consultation with the Legislative Analysists Office, determines that there is sufficient funding appropriated by the Legislature to HCD. In this year’s budget, the Legislature allocated $16,475,000—the cost for implementing the program established by this bill—to the Board of State and Community Corrections, a sub-entity of CDCR. The budget item states that the money is intended for rental assistance, with a directive that priority shall be given to individuals released to state parole.

If SB 282 were signed into law there would not be funding available for the program. The author plans to address this issue in subsequent amendments in the Appropriations Committee.

Prior Legislation:

SB 1021 (Comm. on Budget) 2012, Chapter 41, Statutes of 2012, established the ISMIP program, a supportive housing program for people on parole experiencing mental illness and homelessness.

SB 1013 (Beall), of the 2015-2016 Legislative Session, would have required service providers in the ISMIP program to provide parolee participants with adequate housing and related assistance, including a path to permanent housing and independent living, as part of the Supportive Housing Program for Mentally Ill Prisoners. SB 1013 was held in the Senate Appropriations Committee Suspense file.

SB 1010 (Beall, 2018), of the 2017-2018 Legislative Session, would have established a supportive housing pilot program for mentally ill parolees who are homeless or at risk of homelessness, using existing funding. SB 1010 was held in the Assembly Appropriations Committee.

Double referred: This bill is double referred. It was heard in the Assembly Committee on Public Safety on June 26, 2019 and it passed on a vote of 7-0.

REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:

Support

Corporation for Supportive Housing (Co-Sponsor)

Housing California (Co-Sponsor)

PolicyLink (Co-Sponsor)

Alliance for Boys and Men of Color

American Civil Liberties Union of California

Ant-Recidivism Coalition

California Council of Community Behavioral Health Agencies

California Housing Partnership Corporation

California Public Defenders Association

California YIMBY

City of Santa Monica

County Behavioral Health Directors Association

County of Los Angeles Board of Supervisors

County of Santa Clara

Disability Rights California

East Bay Community Law Center

Ella Baker Center for Human Right

Episcopal Community Services of San Francisco

Initiate Justice

Kings/Tulare Homeless Alliance

Legal Services for Prisoners with Children

Los Angeles Black Worker Center

Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors

Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority

National Association of Social Workers, California Chapter

National Housing Law Project

Non-Profit Housing Association of Northern California

PATH

Root & Rebound

Sacramento County Board of Supervisors

Safe Return Project

Santa Cruz Barrios Unidos

Steinberg Institute

Time for Change Foundation

Western Center on Law and Poverty

Opposition

None on file.

Analysis Prepared by: Lisa Engel / H. & C.D. / (916) 319-2085

Date of Hearing: June 25, 2019

Counsel: Nikki Moore

ASSEMBLY COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY

Reginald Byron Jones-Sawyer, Sr., Chair

SBPCA Bill Id:SB 282

Author:(Beall) – As Amended Ver:May 17, 2019

SUMMARY: Eliminates the Integrated Services for Mentally Ill Parolees (ISMIP) and replaces it with the Supportive Housing Program for Persons on Parole to be administered by the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD). Specifically, this bill:

1. Instructs the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) to transfer all funds appropriated from the General Fund to the ISMIP program to the HCD on an annual basis, and requires CDCR to work with the HCD to establish a process for referral of eligible participants into the program, including participants from the ISMIP program upon the repeal of the ISMIP program.
   
2. States that HCD shall create a program to provide grants to counties to fund permanent supportive housing and wraparound services to people on parole experiencing mental illness and homelessness or risk of homelessness upon release from prison, using funding currently used for the ISMIP program.
   
3. Requires HCD to issue guidelines establishing the grant program and a notice of funding availability or request for proposals for five-year renewable grants to counties. Requires applicants for the grants to demonstrate viable plans to provide permanent supportive housing, mental health treatment, and services to participants.
   
4. Requires HCD to establish criteria to score counties applying for grant funds competitively.
   
5. Makes eligible in the program a person on parole if all of the following are applicable: (1) the person has a serious mental disorder, as defined; (2) the individual voluntarily chooses to participate; (3) either of the following applies: (i) the individual has been assigned a date of release within 60 to 180 days and is likely to become homeless upon release, or (ii) the person is currently experiencing homelessness as a person on parole.
   
6. States that a participant shall continue to receive housing and services funded under the program after discharge from parole, so long as the participant needs this assistance.
   
7. States that applicants for the program funds shall use them for activities including rental assistance, subsidies for new and existing affordable housing, housing navigation services, and incentives to landlords such as security deposits. Other funded activities include coordinating with state prisons to obtain information about, and prepare to provide housing to persons who will be released.
   
8. States that providers shall identify and locate supportive housing opportunities for participants prior to release from state prison or as quickly upon release from state prison as possible, or as quickly as possible when participants are identified during parole.
   
9. Requires HCD to distribute funds by executing contracts with awarded entities for a term of five years, subject to renewal. After a contract has expired pursuant to this subdivision, any funds not expended for eligible activities shall revert to the department for use for the program.
   
10. Requires a recipient of the program to submit to HCD an annual report on a form issued by the department, pertaining to the recipient’s program or project selection process, contract expenditures, and progress toward meeting state and local goals, as demonstrated by the performance measures set forth in the application.
    
11. States that this chapter shall become operative upon a determination by the Department of Finance, in consultation with the Legislative Analyst’s Office, that sufficient funding has been appropriated by the Legislature to the department for the purposes of this chapter. Upon making a determination that sufficient funding has been appropriated, the Department of Finance shall notify the Joint Legislative Budget Committee.
    
12. Defines “housing navigation” to mean “services provided prior to release or in the community that assist program participants with all of the following: (1) Locating permanent housing with private market landlords or property managers who are willing to accept rental assistance or operating subsidies for the program participants; (2) Assisting participants in obtaining local, state, or federal rental assistance or subsidies; (3) Completing housing applications for permanent housing and, when applicable, rental assistance or subsidies; (4) Move-in assistance; (5) Obtaining documentation needed to access permanent housing and rental assistance or subsidies.”
    
13. Defines “permanent housing” to mean “a structure or set of structures with subsidized or unsubsidized rental housing units subject to applicable landlord-tenant law, without a limit on the length of stay and without a requirement to participate in supportive services as a condition of access to or continued occupancy of the housing.”
    
14. Defines “permanent supportive housing” to mean “permanent housing without a limit on the length of stay that is linked to onsite or offsite services that assist the supportive housing residents in retaining the housing, improving the participant’s health status, and maximizing the participant’s ability to live and, when possible, work in the community.”

EXISTING STATE LAW:

1. Authorizes CDCR to obtain day treatment, and to contract for crisis care services, for parolees with mental health problems. States that day treatment and crisis care services should be designed to reduce parolee recidivism. Requires CDCR to work with counties to obtain day treatment and crisis care services for parolees with the goal of extending the services upon completion of the offender’s period of parole, if needed. (Pen. Code, § 3073.)
2. Defines “serious mental disorder” as “a mental disorder that is severe in degree and persistent in duration, which may cause behavioral functioning which interferes substantially with the primary activities of daily living, and which may result in an inability to maintain stable adjustment and independent functioning without treatment, support, and rehabilitation for a long or indefinite period of time. Serious mental disorders include, but are not limited to, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, as well as major affective disorders or other severely disabling mental disorders.” (Welf. & Inst. Code, § 5600.3, subd. (b)(1).)
3. Declares that it is the intent of the Legislature to provide evidence-based, comprehensive mental health and supportive services, including housing subsidies, to parolees who suffer from mental illness and are at risk of homelessness, in order to successfully reintegrate the parolees into the community, increase public safety, and reduce state costs of recidivism. Establishes the supportive housing program for mentally ill parolees who are at risk of homelessness. (Pen. Code, § 2985 et seq.)
   

EXISTING FEDERAL LAW:

1. Defines “homeless” as follows: an individual or family who lacks a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence, as specified; an individual or family who will imminently lose their primary nighttime residence, as specified; an unaccompanied youth under 25 years of age, or families with children and youth, who do not otherwise qualify as homeless under this definition, as specified; and any individual or family who is fleeing, or is attempting to flee, domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, stalking, or other dangerous or life-threatening conditions that relate to violence against the individual or a family member, including a child, that has either taken place within the individual's or family's primary nighttime residence or has made the individual or family afraid to return to their primary nighttime residence, has no other residence, and, lacks the resources or support networks, e.g., family, friends, faith-based or other social networks, to obtain other permanent housing. (Housing and Urban Development, 24 C.F.R. § 91.5.):

FISCAL EFFECT: Unknown

COMMENTS:

1. Author's Statement: According to the author, “There is a strong link between incarceration and homelessness. People on parole who are homeless are seven times more likely to reoffend than those housed. This leads to a cycle of incarceration and homelessness. Stable housing reduces recidivism, strengthens our communities, and promotes equity. Formerly incarcerated individuals are almost 10 times more likely to experience homelessness. An Ohio program demonstrates formerly homeless parolees living in supportive housing have a 60% lower recidivism rate than those who are homeless. New York supportive housing programs show lower recidivism rates, lower Medicaid costs, and lower arrest rates among supportive housing tenants than those still homeless. Lastly, California data indicates supportive housing tenants are able to decrease their days incarcerated by over 60%.

“The Legislature established the Integrated Services for Mentally Ill Parolees (ISMIP) program in California’s 2007-08 budget to address this pressing crisis. However, the current program is not in line with the Legislature’s intent. A 2017 UCLA study found ISMIP fails to significantly reduce recidivism. CDCR uses ISMIP funds to pay one-hundred percent of the cost of mental health treatment to a small number of parolees, instead of enrolling them into Medi-Cal where they can draw down a federal match of 50-90%.

“SB 282 seeks to reduce recidivism rates by addressing the pressing need of supportive housing and wrap-around services for individuals on parole with mental health needs. The bill redirects ISMIP funding toward the Supportive Housing Program for Persons on Parole Program, and requires the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) to administer grants to counties working to break the cycle of incarceration and homelessness using evidence-based, culturally competent models, and ensuring participants access mental health and substance use disorder treatment through Medi-Cal.”

1. Background: According to the author, “Supportive housing is the combination of affordable housing that does not limit length of stay, and services that promote housing stability. It is an evidence-based intervention proven to reduce recidivism significantly.

“The Legislature appropriated funding that led to the establishment of the Integrated Services for Mentally Ill Parolees (ISMIP) program in California’s 2007-08 budget to address this pressing crisis. The program receives annual funding intended to provide supportive housing and intensive case management for homeless parolees with mental health needs, and the Governor’s budget presents $16 million in 2019-20 toward ISMIP.

“As administered, the current program is not in line with the Legislature’s intent. CDCR uses ISMIP funds to pay one-hundred percent of the cost of mental health treatment to a small number of parolees, instead of enrolling them into Medi-Cal where they can draw down a federal match of 50-90%. Additionally, only a small number of ISMIP participants are homeless, and the housing provided is temporary and not consistent with evidence-based housing practices (see attached spreadsheet for CDCR’s most recent ISMIP spending).

“A UCLA study found ISMIP fails to significantly reduce recidivism, and that participants receive only 10 months of mental health treatment on average, before dropping out of the program.

“SB 282 redirects ISMIP funding toward the Supportive Housing Program for Persons on Parole. It would do the following:

• Administer funds through the Department of Housing & Community Development (HCD) using evidence-based, culturally competent housing models;
  
• Require CDCR to refer parolees to the program created within HCD;
  
• Offer grants to counties working to break the cycle of incarceration and homelessness to fund supportive housing for people on parole with serious mental illness; and
  
• Require county grantees ensure participants can access mental health and substance use disorder treatment through Medi-Cal.

“This bill seeks to reduce recidivism rates by using funding more effectively to address the pressing need of supportive housing and wrap-around services for individuals on parole with mental health needs.”

1. Eliminating and Replacing the ISMIP: ISMIP was established in 2007 with AB 900 (Solorio) which authorized CDCR to obtain day treatment and to contract for crisis care services for parolees with mental health problems in order to reduce recidivism. In 2012, SB 1021 (Com. on Budget) expanded the ISMIP program. An analysis of SB 1021 described the program as “a supportive housing program that provides wraparound services to mentally ill parolees who are at risk of homelessness” and summarized the provisions of SB 1021 pertaining to the program as “improv[ing] the program by strengthening the housing component and prioritizing contracts with providers that can help provide a continuum of care after the offender is off of parole.” (Sen. Rules Com., Off. of Sen. Floor Analyses, Unfinished Business Analysis of Sen. Bill 1021 (2011-2012 Reg. Sess.), as amended Jun. 25, 2012, p. 4.)
   
   The proponents of this bill argue the ISMIP funds have not been used as the Legislature intended, citing to a 2017 UCLA study. Specifically, they assert that ISMIP funds have been used to serve a small number of parolees, and that the program is not focused on parolees who are homeless or at risk of homelessness.
   
   This bill would eliminate ISMIP, and redirect its funds to the Supportive Housing Program for Persons on Parole to be administered by HDC. CDCR would refer eligible parolees to the program, and the program’s funds would be administered by HCD as grants to the counties. This bill would establish the duties of HCD in creating and operationalizing the program, delineates eligibility criteria for participation in the program, specifies appropriate uses of program funds, and enumerates services that must be provided to program participants. This bill would also include various reporting requirements, evaluations, and monitoring of grant recipients for compliance with program requirements.
   
2. Funding: This bill would provide that its provisions are not operable until a determination by the Department of Finance (DOF), in consultation with the Legislative Analysists Office, that sufficient funding has been appropriated by the Legislature to HCD, and upon making that determination, DOF is required to notify the Joint Legislative Budget Committee. However, there has been no appropriation specifically made in the 2019-2020 budget. In the 2019-2020 budget, the Legislature has allocated $16,475,000—the cost for implementing the program established by this bill—to the Board of State and Community Corrections, a sub-entity of CDCR. The money was allocated in AB 74 (Committee on Budget) which was enrolled on June 13. The budget item states that the money is intended for rental assistance, with a directive that priority shall be given to individuals released to state parole. There appears to be no budget allocation to HCD for a similar purpose. Thus, it appears that SB 282, if passed, would not take effect unless future funding is appropriated specifically to the HCD by the Legislature for purposes of funding a program to support parolee housing. According to the author’s office, this issue may be addressed in the next committee; the bill is double referred to the Assembly Committee on Housing and Community Development.
   
3. Argument in Support: According to Housing California, “SB 282 seeks to reduce recidivism by addressing the pressing needs of people on parole experiencing homelessness and serious mental illness. Homelessness and incarceration are linked. Formerly incarcerated people are almost 10 times more likely to experience homelessness as the general public. Further, people on parole are seven times more likely to recidivate when homeless than when housed. And people released from prison face enormous obstacles in security housing stability. Similarly, people experiencing homelessness suffer higher rates of chronic health conditions. As a result of this ‘perfect storm’ among people on parole experiencing homelessness and serious mental illness, this population cycles between homelessness, shelters, hospitals, and jails, with a likely return to prison (and need for mental health and medical care while incarcerated).

“This bill builds on the framework of the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation’s (CDCR) Integrated Services for the Mentally Ill Parolees (ISMIP) Program, which was established in 2007-08 to provide intensive case management and housing for homeless parolees living with mental illness. Currently, ISMIP is funding mental health treatment for several hundred people on parole. Though participants are eligible for Medi-Cal under the Affordable Care Act, which offers 50-93% federal reimbursement for Medi-Cal treatment, the State is covering 100% of treatment costs through ISMIP. Further, when ISMIP participants exit parole, they must reestablish treatment with their county Medi-Cal mental health program. The current program is not serving the intended purpose, as providers are not using the resources to serve people experiencing homelessness, and less than 15% of the funds pay for housing. Housing provided is time-limited and not evidence-based. Finally, the ISMIP program has resulted in poor outcomes. A UCLA study has found no significant reductions in arrests or convictions among program participants.

“SB 282 will redirect ISMIP funds to fulfill the intended purposes of dollars appropriated. As CDCR staff do not have housing expertise (nor should they), SB 282 will allocate funding instead to the state’s housing department, the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD). HCD will provide grants to counties to fund evidence-based housing and housing-based services—supportive housing—for people on parole experiencing homelessness and serious mental illness, and require grantee counties to offer participants mental health treatment through Medi-Cal.

“Study after study shows supportive housing reduces recidivism among people on parole, while improving health outcomes. We are confident that this evidence-based approach will not only allow people on parole the chance to live healthy, productive lives, but will reduce the state’s costs of incarceration and mental health treatment.”

1. Related Legislation: AB 1405 (Gloria) Requires the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) to contract for and fund permanent housing for parolees at risk of homelessness. AB 1405 was held in the Assembly Appropriations Committee on the suspense file.
2. Prior Legislation:
   
   1. SB 1021 (Comm. on Budget) 2012, Chapter 41, Statutes of 2012, established the ISMIP program, a supportive housing program for people on parole experiencing mental illness and homelessness.
      
   2. SB 1013 (Beall), of the 2015-2016 Legislative Session, would have required service providers in the ISMIP program to provide parolee participants with adequate housing and related assistance, including a path to permanent housing and independent living, as part of the Supportive Housing Program for Mentally Ill Prisoners. SB 1013 was held in the Senate Appropriations Committee Suspense file.
      
   3. SB 1010 (Beall, 2018), of the 2017-2018 Legislative Session, would have established a supportive housing pilot program for mentally ill parolees who are homeless or at risk of homelessness, using existing funding. SB 1010 was held in the Assembly Appropriations Committee.

REGISTERED SUPPORT / OPPOSITION:

Support

Corporation for Supportive Housing (Co-Sponsor)
Housing California (Co-Sponsor)
PolicyLink (Co-Sponsor)
Alliance for Boys And Men of Color
American Civil Liberties Union of California
Anti-Recidivism Coalition
CA Council of Community Behavioral Health Agencies
California Housing Partnership
California Public Defenders Association
California YIMBY
City of Santa Monica
County Behavioral Health Directors Association
County of Los Angeles Board of Supervisors
County of Sacramento
County of Santa Clara
Disability Rights California
East Bay Community Law Center
Ella Baker Center for Human Rights
Episcopal Community Services of San Francisco
Initiate Justice
Kings/Tulare Homeless Alliance
Legal Services for Prisoners with Children
Los Angeles Black Worker Center
Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority
National Association of Social Workers, California Chapter
National Housing Law Project 
Non-Profit Housing Association of Northern California
PATH
Richmond Safe Return Project
Root & Rebound
Santa Cruz Barrios Unidos
Steinberg Institute
Time for Change Foundation
Western Center on Law and Poverty

Opposition

None

Analysis Prepared by: Nikki Moore / PUB. S. / (916) 319-3744

 THIRD READING  

Bill No: SB 282

Author: Beall (D)

Amended: 5/17/19

Vote: 21

SENATE HOUSING COMMITTEE: 11-0, 4/2/19

AYES: Wiener, Morrell, Bates, Caballero, Durazo, McGuire, Moorlach, Roth, Skinner, Umberg, Wieckowski

SENATE PUBLIC SAFETY COMMITTEE: 7-0, 4/23/19

AYES: Skinner, Moorlach, Bradford, Jackson, Mitchell, Morrell, Wiener

SENATE APPROPRIATIONS COMMITTEE: 6-0, 5/16/19

AYES: Portantino, Bates, Bradford, Hill, Jones, Wieckowski

SUBJECT: Supportive housing for parolees

SOURCE: Corporation for Supportive Housing

Housing California

PolicyLink

DIGEST:

This bill requires the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to transfer all funds from the Integrated Services for Mentally Ill Parolees program to the California Department of Housing and Development for the newly created Supportive Housing Program for Persons on Parole (SHPPP), to provide permanent supportive housing and wraparound services to mentally ill parolees who are homeless or at risk of homelessness.

ANALYSIS:

Existing law:

1. Establishes the Integrated Services for Mentally Ill Parolees (ISMIP) program, which provides evidence-based, comprehensive mental health and supportive services, including housing subsidies, to parolees who suffer from mental illness and are at risk of homelessness.
2. Establishes the responsibility of the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD) over the development and implementation of housing policy through various programs, including among others, financial and other assistance to local public entities and nonprofit organizations for housing-related services.
3. Defines “Housing First” to mean the evidence-based model that uses housing as a tool, rather than a reward, for recovery and that centers on providing or connecting homeless people to permanent housing as quickly as possible. Housing First providers offer services as needed and requested on a voluntary basis and that do not make housing contingent on participation in services.

This bill:

1. Creates the SHPPP under HCD.
2. Requires the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR), by January 1, 2021, to transfer all ISMIP funds to HCD to fund the SHPPP and work with HCD to establish a process for referral of eligible participants, and collaborate to provide recidivism data, including outcomes and cost, to evaluate the program.
3. Requires HCD, by January 1, 2021, to:
   1. Create the SHPPP to provide grants to counties using funding from the ISMIP fund. These fund shall finance permanent supportive housing and wraparound services for people on parole as specified.
   2. Issue guidelines for the SHPPP and a notice of funding availability or request for proposals for five-year renewable grants to counties. Applicants shall demonstrate a viable plan to provide housing, services and reporting as specified.
4. Requires HCD to establish competitive criteria to score counties applying for grant funds as specified.
5. Establishes eligibility for the SHPPP to include persons on parole who meet all of the following:
   1. The person has a serious mental disorder.
   2. The individual voluntarily chooses to participate.
   3. Either (1) the individual has been assigned a date of release within 60 to 180 days and is likely to become homeless upon release, or (2) the person is currently experiencing homelessness as a person on parole.
   4. Provides that a participant shall remain eligible for the program after discharge from parole, as long as the participant needs the assistance.
6. Limits an applicant’s use of the program funds as specified.
7. Requires homeless service providers funded by this program to offer voluntary services after participants are discharged from parole, as long as the participants need the services or the grant period ends.
8. Provides that services shall be offered to participants in their home, or be made as easily accessible to participants, including, but not limited to:
   1. Case management services.
   2. Parole discharge planning.
   3. Links to other services, such as vocational, educational, and employment services, as needed.
   4. Benefit entitlement application and appeal assistance, as needed.
   5. Transportation assistance to obtain services and health care needed.
   6. Assistance obtaining appropriate identification, as needed.
   7. Links to Medi-Cal-funded mental health treatment, substance use disorder treatment, and medical treatment, as necessary.
9. Requires the intake coordinator or case manager to take the following steps once participants are identified, prior to release from prison:
   1. Receive all pre-release assessments and discharge plans.
   2. Draft a plan for the participant’s transition into supportive housing.
   3. Engage the participant to actively participate in services upon release on a voluntary basis.
   4. Assist in obtaining identification for the participant, if necessary.
   5. Assist in applying for any benefits for which the participant is eligible.
10. Requires the provider, upon referral to the provider (organizations that contract with a participating county for the purpose of providing services to participants for this program), to work towards promoting housing stability using the core components of Housing First.
11. Requires providers to identify and locate supportive housing opportunities for participants prior to release from state prison, or as quickly as possible upon release, or when participants are identified during parole.
12. Requires housing provided by the program to satisfy all of the following:
    1. Participants have rights and responsibilities of tenancy and are required to sign a lease with a landlord or property manager that complies with the core components of Housing First.
    2. The housing is located in an apartment building, townhouse, or single-family home, including rent-subsidized apartments leased in the open market or set aside within privately owned buildings, or affordable or supportive housing receiving a publicly funded subsidy.
    3. The housing is not subject to or is exempt from community care licensing requirements.
13. Requires recipients to submit an annual report, as specified, to HCD and to the Legislature by February 1, 2024, pertaining to the recipient’s program or project selection process, contract expenditures, activities, and progress toward meeting state and local goals until all funds have been expended.
14. Requires HCD to assess the outcomes of the program as specified.
15. Requires HCD to reimburse CDCR for administrative costs, as specified.
16. Provides that this bill is subject to legislative or budget appropriation.
17. Repeals the ISMIP program once the SHPPP comes into effect.

Background

Homeless parolees are seven times more likely to return to prison; parolees experiencing mental illness are even more vulnerable to recidivism due to homelessness. The lack of affordable housing leaves ex-offenders competing for limited resources with others who have no criminal record, exacerbating homelessness among parolees. The author’s intent is to target this vulnerable population by providing permanent supportive housing and wraparound services in order to reduce their chances of returning to prison. The importance of transitional services in achieving the re-entry of prisoners to society is well documented. Studies have shown the efficiency of supportive housing in providing stable shelter for individuals over time. Rates of housing retention have been high in various populations utilizing supportive housing, including those suffering with mental illness. This bill aims to connect parolees suffering from mental illnesses with these integrated services, with an emphasis on permanent supportive housing, in order to keep this population out of prison.

Comments

1. Purpose of the bill. According to the author, the ISMIP program, established in California’s 2007-08 budget, receives annual funding to provide supportive housing and intensive case management for homeless individuals on parole who are also experiencing mental health needs. Since its inception, the ISMIP program has not met its legislative intent. To ensure this funding meets the Legislature’s intent of providing housing, this bill redirects ISMIP funding toward the SHPPP. This bill will allocate the funding to HCD, whose expertise is in housing to provide grants to counties to fund evidence-based supportive housing for people on parole who are experiencing homelessness and serious mental health issues. This program also requires grantee counties to offer participants mental health treatment through Medi-Cal. Through existing resources, SB 282 will improve our state’s response to homelessness among people on parole.
2. ISMIP. According to a UCLA evaluation of the ISMIP program, the rate of recidivism has not decreased significantly among ISMIP participants. In addition, ISMIP funds have been utilized to cover the cost of mental health services, even when participants may have been eligible for Medi-Cal, which the federal government provides reimbursements for 50-90% of the cost. This bill requires eligible participants to receive mental health treatment through the county Medi-Cal system as opposed to utilizing ISMIP funds to cover these expenses.
3. SHPPP. This bill strongly emphasizes Housing First practices to promote housing stability for participating mentally ill individuals on parole. Although HCD typically funds programs for the construction and development of housing, this program would require HCD to fund services that promote long-term housing stability, recovery from addiction, education, and employment. Even though HCD does not typically provide or fund for services, HCD has experience funding programs such as California Emergency Solutions and Housing (CESH), which, among various functions, provides services such as rental assistance and housing relocation and stabilization services.
4. Amendments. Amendments taken in the Appropriations Committee revise the due date for HCD’s report from February 1, 2024 to within three years of the initial appropriation that establishes the SHPPP within HCD. The services that shall be offered to participants have been revised and the language requiring HCD to reimburse CDCR for administrative costs has been removed. The amendments also make a technical amendment to clarify that one of the report recipients would be the Senate Housing Committee, rather than the Transportation and Housing Committee.

Related/Prior Legislation

AB 1405 (Gloria, 2019) requires CDCR to enter into contracts to provide permanent housing for individuals exiting prison who are at risk of homelessness or are experiencing homelessness. The bill was held on suspense in the Assembly Appropriations Committee.

SB 1010 (Beall, 2017) would have created the Supportive Housing Pilot Program for mentally ill parolees who are homeless or at risk of homelessness. The bill died in the Assembly Appropriations Committee.

SB 1013 (Beall, 2015) would have required service providers in the ISMIP program to provide parolee participants with adequate housing and related assistance, including a path to permanent housing and independent living. The bill was held in the Senate Appropriations Committee Suspense file.

SB 1021 (Budget and Fiscal Review Committee, Chapter 41, Statutes of 2012) established the ISMIP program.

FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes Local: No

According to the Senate Appropriations Committee:

• Permanent shift of $13 million to $16 million in General Fund appropriations from CDCR’s ISMIP program to HCD’s SHPPP. Staff notes that the programs have similar goals, but the new program is more focused on providing permanent supportive housing with wraparound services, while attempting to shift some of the benefits provided under the ISMIP program to Medi-Cal (which is primarily federally-funded). To the extent that funding provided under the ISMIP program is insufficient to fully fund SHPPP, the bill could result in additional General Fund cost pressures.
  
• HCD estimates costs of approximately $1.8 million in the first year and $1.65 million ongoing for 10 PY of staff to administer the new SHPPP, including developing and adopting guidelines, conducting outreach, issuing notices for funding, evaluating applications, awarding grants, providing technical assistance, and performing ongoing monitoring. Information is not currently available regarding current CDCR administrative costs, in order to determine whether administrative costs will be higher under SHPPP. (General Fund)
  
• Unknown HCD costs, likely in the hundreds of thousands in one-time contract costs, to hire an independent evaluator to assess SHPPP outcomes. (General Fund)
  
• Unknown CDCR administrative costs, at least in the low hundreds of thousands annually, to establish and implement a process for referring participants to the SHPPP, and to provide specified recidivism data for program evaluation. Actual costs are unknown and would depend upon the eligibility criteria established by HCD. (General Fund)

SUPPORT: (Verified 5/16/19)

Corporation for Supportive Housing (co-source)
Housing California (co-source)
PolicyLink (co-source)
Alliance for Boys and Men of Color
American Civil Liberties Union of California
Anti-Recidivism Coalition
California Council of Community Behavioral Health Agencies
California Housing Partnership
California Public Defenders Association
California YIMBY
City of Santa Monica
Disability Rights California
East Bay Community Law Center
Ella Baker Center for Human Rights
Initiate Justice
Kings/Tulare Homeless Alliance
Legal Services for Prisoners with Children
Los Angeles Black Worker Center
Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority
National Association of Social Workers, California Chapter
National Housing Law Project 
Non-Profit Housing Association of Northern California
PATH
Root & Rebound
Safe Return Project
Santa Cruz Barrios Unidos
Steinberg Institute
Time for Change Foundation
Western Center on Law and Poverty

OPPOSITION: (Verified 5/16/19)

None received

ARGUMENTS IN SUPPORT: Supporters of this bill point to the current ISMIP program’s lack of funding for permanent supportive housing, which is an evidence-based approach to address homelessness over the long term. The newly created program under SB 282 will allow people on parole to live healthy, productive lives and reduce the state’s cost of incarceration and mental health treatment.

Prepared by: Lizeth Perez / HOUSING / (916) 651-4124

5/20/19 14:54:13

**** END ****

SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS

Senator Anthony Portantino, Chair

2019 - 2020 Regular Session

SB 282 (Beall) - Supportive housing for parolees

Bill Summary:

SB 282 would establish the Supportive Housing Program for Persons on Parole (SHPPP program) within the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD), repeal the Integrated Services for Mentally Ill Parolees (ISMIP) program, and require the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) to transfer all ISMIP program funding to HCD for purposes of funding the SHPPP program, as specified.

*********** ANALYSIS ADDENDUM – SUSPENSE FILE ***********

The following information is revised to reflect amendments

adopted by the committee on May 16, 2019

Fiscal Impact:

• Permanent shift of $13 million to $16 million in General Fund appropriations from CDCR’s ISMIP program to HCD’s SHPPP program. Staff notes that the programs have similar goals, but the new program is more focused on providing permanent supportive housing with wraparound services, while attempting to shift some of the benefits provided under the ISMIP program to Medi-Cal (which is primarily federally-funded). To the extent that funding provided under the ISMIP program is insufficient to fully fund the SHPPP program, the bill could result in additional General Fund cost pressures.
  
• HCD estimates costs of approximately $1.8 million in the first year and $1.65 million ongoing for 10 PY of staff to administer the new SHPPP program, including developing and adopting guidelines, conducting outreach, issuing notices for funding, evaluating applications, awarding grants, providing technical assistance, and performing ongoing monitoring. Information is not currently available regarding current CDCR administrative costs, in order to determine whether administrative costs will be higher under the SHPPP program. (General Fund)
  
• Unknown HCD costs, likely in the hundreds of thousands in one-time contract costs, to hire an independent evaluator to assess SHPPP program outcomes. (General Fund)
  
• Unknown CDCR administrative costs, at least in the low hundreds of thousands annually, to establish and implement a process for referring participants to the SHPPP program, and to provide specified recidivism data for program evaluation. Actual costs are unknown and would depend upon the eligibility criteria established by HCD. (General Fund)

Author Amendments:

• Remove the January 1, 2021 date certain for HCD to initiate the SHPPP program and CDCR to transfer ISMIP funding and establish a referral process, and instead implement these requirements upon the specified determination that sufficient funding has been provided for the new program.
• Remove the January 1, 2024 date certain for HCD to submit an evaluation of program outcomes, and instead require the evaluation to be submitted three years after the operative date of the program.
• Delete the requirement for HCD to reimburse CDCR for establishing and implementing a referral process, and the 2% limit on CDCR’s administrative costs.
• Clarify the services that are offered to program participants in their home.

-- END --

SENATE COMMITTEE ON APPROPRIATIONS

Senator Anthony Portantino, Chair

2019 - 2020 Regular Session

SB 282 (Beall) - Supportive housing for parolees

Bill Summary:

SB 282 would establish the Supportive Housing Program for Persons on Parole (SHPPP program) within the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD), repeal the Integrated Services for Mentally Ill Parolees (ISMIP) program, and require the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) to transfer all ISMIP program funding to HCD for purposes of funding the SHPPP program, as specified.

Fiscal Impact:

• Permanent shift of $13 million to $16 million in General Fund appropriations from CDCR’s ISMIP program to HCD’s SHPPP program. Staff notes that the programs have similar goals, but the new program is more focused on providing permanent supportive housing with wraparound services, while attempting to shift some of the benefits provided under the ISMIP program to Medi-Cal (which is primarily federally-funded). To the extent that funding provided under the ISMIP program is insufficient to fully fund the SHPPP program, the bill could result in additional General Fund cost pressures.
  
• HCD estimates costs of approximately $1.8 million in the first year and $1.65 million ongoing for 10 PY of staff to administer the new SHPPP program, including developing and adopting guidelines, conducting outreach, issuing notices for funding, evaluating applications, awarding grants, providing technical assistance, and performing ongoing monitoring. Information is not currently available regarding current CDCR administrative costs, in order to determine whether administrative costs will be higher under the SHPPP program. (General Fund)
  
• Unknown HCD costs, likely in the hundreds of thousands in one-time contract costs, to hire an independent evaluator to assess SHPPP program outcomes. (General Fund)
  
• CDCR administrative costs would be capped at $260,000 to $320,000 (2% of the annual appropriation for the SHPPP program) to establish and implement a process for referring participants to the SHPPP program, and to provide specified recidivism data for program evaluation. Actual costs are unknown and would depend upon the eligibility criteria established by HCD. (General Fund)

Background:

Existing law, as enacted by AB 900 (Solorio), Chap. 7/2007, authorizes the CDCR to obtain day treatment, and contract for crisis care for parolees with mental health problems. Existing law provides that day treatment and crisis care services should be designed to reduce parolee recidivism. Existing law requires CDCR to work with counties to obtain day treatment and crisis care services for parolees with the goal of extending the services upon completion of the offender’s period of parole, if needed. In 2012, the Legislature enacted SB 1021 (Budget and Fiscal Review Committee), which established the Supportive Housing Program for Mentally Ill Parolees to provide evidence-based, comprehensive mental health and supportive services, including housing subsidies, to parolees who suffer from mental illness and who are at risk of homelessness in order to successfully reintegrate them into the community, increase public safety, and reduce state costs of recidivism. These wraparound services are to be funded using money appropriated by the Legislature for that purpose.

To be eligible for participation in the program, an inmate or parolee must have a serious mental disorder, as defined, and a history of mental health treatment in the prison system. Also, a participant must be either a homeless parolee or an inmate pending release who is likely to be homeless upon release and voluntarily participate. Participating service providers must offer services for parolees to maintain health and housing stability and to comply with parole conditions. The providers are required to augment services to other parolees. Additionally, providers must report to CDCR regarding the intended outcomes of programs, including the number of participants served and the outcomes for participants. In turn, the department must prepare an analysis of the information and annually submit it to the Legislature, as specified.

Proposed Law:

SB 282 would establish the SHPPP program and repeal the ISMIP program, upon appropriation of sufficient funding to HCD, as specified. Specifically, this bill would do the following, among other things:

• Require CDCR, by January 1, 2021, to annually transfer to HCD any funds appropriated from the General Fund for ISMIP. CDCR must also work with HCD to establish a process for referring eligible participants into the SHPPP program, and collaborate to provide recidivism data for evaluating the SHPPP program, as specified.
• Require HCD to reimburse CDCR for the administrative costs of establishing and implementing a referral process and providing specified data, and limits the reimbursement amount to two percent of the annual appropriation for the program.
• Require HCD, by January 1, 2021, to create the SHPPP program to provide grants to counties to fund permanent supportive housing and wraparound services to people on parole experiencing mental illness and homelessness or risk of homelessness upon release from prison. HCD must issue guidelines establishing the grant program and requests for proposals for five-year renewable grants, and establish competitive scoring criteria for county applicants, as specified.
• Require county applicants to use program funding for the following eligible activities:
  • Rental assistance of up to twice the community fair market rent, and/or operating subsidies in affordable or supportive housing units of up to the community fair market rent, as specified.
  • Incentives to landlords, including security deposits and holding fees.
  • Services to assist participants in accessing permanent supportive housing and to promote housing stability in supportive housing, as specified.
  • Operating support for interim interventions, as necessary.
• Specify that a person is eligible for assistance if they have a serious mental disorder, voluntarily participate in the program, and are either a parolee experiencing homelessness or are likely to become homeless upon release from custody. A participant would continue to receive program assistance after discharge from parole, if necessary.
• Require homeless service providers offer voluntary services in conjunction with housing, to obtain and maintain health and housing stability while participants are on parole and after discharge from parole, as specified.
• Require specified services to be offered to participants in their home, or made as easily accessible as possible.
• Require an intake coordinator or provider’s case manager, in collaboration with a parole agent, to provide specified transition services for participants identified prior to release from prison, including assistance in obtaining identification and applying for eligible benefits.
• Require providers promote housing stability, and identify and locate supportive housing opportunities, and require the housing to meet specified criteria.
• Require HCD to distribute funds by executing five-year contracts with awarded entities, subject to renewal. Any funds not expended for eligible activities after a contract has expired would revert to HCD for use for the program.
• Require county participants to annually report specified information to HCD related to the recipient’s and subrecipients’ project selection process, contract expenditures, and progress toward meeting state and local goals. Applicants must report specified data on the number of participants served, the types of services provided, participant outcomes, and numbers of participants who successfully completed parole, as specified.
• Authorize HCD to monitor expenditures and activities to ensure compliance, and to request repayment of funds or other remedies for noncompliance.
• Require HCD to design and evaluation and hire an independent evaluator to assess outcomes from the program, which must include specified information, including longitudinal data on participants’ housing status and recidivism among participants.
• Require HCD to submit the program evaluation to specified committees in the Legislature by January 1, 2024.
• Specify that the bill would only become operative upon a determination by the Department of Finance (DOF) and Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO) that sufficient funding has been appropriated to HCD. Upon making that determination, as specified, DOF must notify the Joint Legislative Budget Committee (JLBC).
• Repeal the ISMIP program on the date upon which DOF notifies JLBC that sufficient funding has been provided to HCD for the SHPPP program.

Related Legislation:

AB 1405 (Gloria), which is pending in the Assembly Appropriations Committee, would require CDCR to enter into contracts to provide permanent housing for individuals exiting prison who are at risk of homelessness and to parolees experiencing homelessness.

SB 1010 (Beall), which was held on the Assembly Appropriations Committee’s Suspense File last year, would have required CDCR to establish a supportive housing pilot program for mentally ill parolees who are homeless or at risk of homelessness.

SB 1013 (Beall), which was held on this Committee’s Suspense File in 2016, would have required service providers in the ISMIP program to provide participants with appropriate permanent supportive housing and interim housing, as necessary, using funding appropriated for the ISMIP program.

SB 1021 (Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review), Chap. 41/2012, among its numerous provisions, established the ISMIP program.

AB 900 (Solorio), Chap. 7/2007, in part, authorized CDCR to contract for mental health rehabilitative services and for crisis care services to target the individual needs of parolees with mental illness. It also required the department to work with counties to obtain day treatment and crisis care services for parolees with the goal of extending the services upon the person’s completion of parole.

Staff Comments:

The Governor’s proposed 2019-2020 budget allocates $16 million for day treatment and crisis care for the mentally ill. The following chart notes the funding amounts and program expenditures for the ISMIP program in recent years.

Staff notes that the balance of available funds has reverted to the General Fund in recent years. To the extent that the SHPPP program is more successful at spending down the appropriation, the net General Fund expenditures under the new program will be higher.

The author and proponents of this bill argue the ISMIP funds have not been used as the Legislature intended. Specifically, they assert that ISMIP funds have been used to serve a small number of parolees, and that the program is not focused on parolees who are homeless or at risk of homelessness. The following chart indicates the number of individuals who receive assistance under the ISMIP program.

CDCR indicates that it currently contracts with service providers in six counties that expire on June 30, 2021, and in two other counties with contracts that expire on June 30, 2020. The bill’s requirement that the ISMIP statutes are repealed when HCD receives sufficient appropriations to fund the SHPPP program, and the subsequent transfer of CDCR’s ISMIP funding to HCD by January 1, 2021, may result in state liability related to contract cancellations.

SB 282 requires CDCR, by January 1, 2021, to transfer all funds appropriated from the General Fund for ISMIP to HCD on an annual basis for purposes of funding the SHPPP program, but only to the extent that the Legislature has appropriated sufficient funding to HCD to establish and administer the SHPPP program. Seemingly, this funding and de-funding would occur naturally through the budget process. It is unclear why the annual transfer of funds would be necessary once funding is appropriated for SHPPP since ISMIP statutes would be repealed upon the operative date of the new program. It is also unclear why there should be a date certain for this transfer to occur, especially one that is not in line with the fiscal year and annual budget process, considering the bill’s provisions are not operative until sufficient funding has been appropriated to HCD.

Proposed Author Amendments:

The author has proposed amendments that would revise the due date for HCD’s report from February 1, 2024 to within three years of the initial appropriation that establishes the program within HCD. The amendments would also make a technical amendment to clarify that one of the report recipients would be the Senate Housing Committee, rather than the Transportation and Housing Committee.

-- END --

SENATE COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC SAFETY

Senator Nancy Skinner, Chair

2019 - 2020 Regular

Bill No: SB 282 Hearing Date: April 23, 2019

Subject: Supportive Housing for Parolees

HISTORY

Source: Corporation for Support Housing

Housing California

Policy Link

Prior Legislation: SB 1010 (Beall), held in Assembly Appropriations in 2018

SB 1013 (Beall), held in Senate Appropriations in 2016

Support: Alliance for Boys and Men of Color; American Civil Liberties Union of California; Anti-Recidivism Coalition; California Council of Community Behavioral Health Agencies; California Housing Partnership; California Public Defenders Association; California YIMBY; Disability Rights California; Initiate Justice; Kings/Tulare Homeless Alliance; Legal Services for Prisoners with Children; Los Angeles Black Worker Center; Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority; National Association of Social Workers, California Chapter; Non-Profit Housing Association of Northern California; PATH; Root & Rebound; Steinberg Institute; 2 individuals

Opposition: None known

PURPOSE

The purpose of this bill is to create the Supportive Housing Program for Persons on Parole to replace the Integrated Services for Mentally Ill Parolees (ISMIP) program contingent upon the Department of Finance notifying the Joint Legislative Budget Committee that sufficient funding has been appropriated by the Legislature for that purpose.

Existing law authorizes the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) to obtain day treatment, and to contract for crisis care services, for parolees with mental health problems. States that day treatment and crisis care services should be designed to reduce parolee recidivism. Requires CDCR to work with counties to obtain day treatment and crisis care services for parolees with the goal of extending the services upon completion of the offender’s period of parole, if needed. (Pen. Code § 3073.)

Existing law defines “serious mental disorder” as a mental disorder that is severe in degree and persistent in duration, which may cause behavioral functioning which interferes substantially with the primary activities of daily living, and which may result in an inability to maintain stable adjustment and independent functioning without treatment, support, and rehabilitation for a long or indefinite period of time. Serious mental disorders include, but are not limited to, schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, post-traumatic stress disorder, as well as major affective disorders or other severely disabling mental disorders. (Welf. & Inst. Code § 5600.3, subd. (b)(1).)

Existing law declares that it is the intent of the Legislature to provide evidence-based, comprehensive mental health and supportive services, including housing subsidies, to parolees who suffer from mental illness and are at risk of homelessness, in order to successfully reintegrate the parolees into the community, increase public safety, and reduce state costs of recidivism. Establishes the supportive housing program for mentally ill parolees who are at risk of homelessness. (Pen. Code § 2985 et seq.)

Existing federal law defines “homeless” as follows:

• An individual or family who lacks a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence;
• An individual or family with a primary nighttime residence that is a public or private place not designed for or ordinarily used as a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings, including a car, park, abandoned building, bus or train station, airport, or camping ground;
• An individual or family living in a supervised publicly or privately operated shelter designated to provide temporary living arrangements;
• An individual who resided in a shelter or place not meant for human habitation and who is exiting an institution where he or she temporarily resided;
• An individual or family who will imminently lose their primary nighttime residence, provided that:
  • The primary nighttime residence will be lost within 14 days of the date of application for homeless assistance;
  • No subsequent residence has been identified; and,
  • The individual or family lacks the resources or support networks needed to obtain other permanent housing;
• Unaccompanied youth and homeless families with children and youth defined as homeless under other federal statutes who:
  • Have not had a lease, ownership interest, or occupancy agreement in permanent housing at any time during the 60 days immediately preceding the date of application for homeless assistance;
  • Have experienced persistent instability as measured by frequent moves during the 60-day period immediately preceding the date of applying for homeless assistance; and,
  • Can be expected to continue in such status for an extended period of time because of chronic disabilities, chronic physical health or mental health conditions, substance addiction, histories of domestic violence or childhood abuse, the presence of a child or youth with a disability, or multiple barriers to employment.
• Any individual or family who:
  • Is fleeing, or is attempting to flee, domestic violence, dating violence, sexual assault, stalking, or other dangerous or life-threatening conditions in the individual’s or family’s current housing situation, including where the health and safety of children are jeopardized;
  • Has no other residence; and,
  • Lacks the resources or support networks to obtain other permanent housing.

(42 U.S.C. § 11302.)

This bill includes the following legislative findings and declarations:  

• People on parole are seven times more likely to recidivate when homeless than when housed.
• Evidence shows that supportive housing, or housing that is affordable to people on parole living in extreme poverty that does not limit the length of stay and offers tenants services promoting housing stability, reduces recidivism and improves the tenant’s ability to recover from mental illness.
• The Legislature passed, and the Governor signed, Senate Bill 1021 in 2012, which included direction to CDCR to provide a supportive housing program for people on parole experiencing mental illness and homelessness. The program was intended to use funds budgeted for the Integrated Services for Mentally Ill Parolees (ISMIP) program to provide supportive housing, in accordance with Senate Bill 1021. Funds have not been used for their legislatively intended purposes to create supportive housing for people experiencing homelessness while on parole.
• In 2017, the University of California, Los Angeles, completed an evaluation of the ISMIP program and found that there were not significant reductions in recidivism among ISMIP participants, as compared to other persons who did not participate in the ISMIP program.
• It is the intent of the Legislature to strengthen programs for our most vulnerable people on parole to promote evidence-based, wraparound services, including rental subsidies, in an amount adequate to allow mentally ill parolees experiencing homelessness, or at risk of experiencing homelessness upon release from prison, to obtain and maintain housing stability during and after the term of parole, thereby reducing recidivism among those with a history of homelessness. The Department of Housing and Community Development, with its expertise in overseeing grant programs for housing and services, and counties with experience providing housing and services to people being released from incarceration, are appropriate entities to administer programs offering evidence-based housing and services interventions to people on parole experiencing homelessness.

This bill includes the following definitions:  

• “Applicant” means a county that has applied to receive funds under the program.
• “Chronically homeless” has the same meaning as it does in federal regulations, and also includes people who were chronically homeless before entering an institution upon discharge from that institution, regardless of the length of institutional stay.
• “Continuum of care” has the same meaning as that term is defined in federal regulations.
• “County” includes a city and county or a city that is working with one or more counties to apply for grant funds.
• “Department” means the Department of Housing and Community Development (HCD), unless otherwise identified.
• “Fair market rent” means the rent, including the cost of utilities, other than the telephone, as established by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), for units of varying sizes, as determined by the number of bedrooms, that is paid in the market area to rent privately owned, existing, decent, safe, and sanitary rental housing of a modest nature with suitable amenities.
• “Homeless” has the same meaning as in federal regulations. A person who is being released from prison who was homeless before their incarceration and who does not have an identified residence upon release is also “homeless.”
• “Homeless services provider” means an organization that qualifies as an exempt organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code and that contracts with a participating county for the purpose of providing services to people experiencing homelessness.
• “Housing First” has the same meaning as in Welfare and Institutions Code Section 8255.
• “Housing navigation” means services provided prior to release or in the community that assist program participants with all of the following:
  • Locating permanent housing with private market landlords or property managers who are willing to accept rental assistance or operating subsidies for the program participants.
  • Assisting participants in obtaining local, state, or federal rental assistance or subsidies.
  • Completing housing applications for permanent housing and, when applicable, rental assistance or subsidies.
  • Move-in assistance.
  • Obtaining documentation needed to access permanent housing and rental assistance or subsidies.
• “Integrated Services for Mentally Ill Parolees program” or “ISMIP program” means the program of services provided in the Penal Code beginning with Section 2985.
• “Interim interventions” means housing that does not qualify as permanent housing, as defined, including, but not limited to, emergency shelters, motel vouchers, or navigation centers as defined under other federal, state, or local programs. All programs providing interim interventions funded pursuant to this chapter shall have partnerships or other links to homeless services to connect individuals and families to income, public benefits, health services, and permanent housing.
• “Likely to become homeless upon release” means the individual has a history of experiencing “homelessness” as that term is used in federal law and the individual satisfies either of the following criteria:
  • The person has not identified a fixed, regular, and adequate residence to occupy upon release.
  • The person’s only identified nighttime residence for release includes a supervised publicly or privately operated shelter designed to provide temporary living accommodations, or a public or private place not designed for, or is not ordinarily used as, a regular sleeping accommodation for human beings.
• “Likely to become homeless upon release” also includes a person who is being released from prison who was homeless prior to being incarcerated and who does not have an identified residence to occupy upon release.
• “Permanent housing” means a structure or set of structures with subsidized or unsubsidized rental housing units subject to applicable landlord-tenant law, without a limit on the length of stay and without a requirement to participate in supportive services as a condition of access to or continued occupancy of the housing. “Permanent housing” includes supportive housing.
• “Permanent supportive housing” means permanent housing without a limit on the length of stay that is linked to onsite or offsite services that assist the supportive housing residents in retaining the housing, improving the participant’s health status, and maximizing the participant’s ability to live and, when possible, work in the community. “Permanent supportive housing” includes associated facilities if used to provide services to housing residents.
• “Program” means the Supportive Housing Program for Persons on Parole.
• “Rental assistance” means a rental subsidy provided to a housing provider, including a developer leasing affordable or supportive housing, to assist a tenant to pay the difference between 30 percent of the tenant’s income and fair market rent or reasonable market rent as determined by the grant recipient and approved by the department.
• “Subrecipient” means a unit of local government or a private nonprofit or for-profit organization that the administrative entity determines is qualified to undertake the eligible activities for which the recipient seeks funds under the program, and that enters into a contract with the recipient to undertake those eligible activities in accordance with the requirements of the program.
• “Voluntary services” means services offered in conjunction with housing that is not contingent on participation in services, from which tenants are not evicted based on failure to participate in services, where the service provider engages the tenant to encourage the tenant to voluntarily participate in services using evidence-based engagement models, and services are flexible and tenant centered.

This bill establishes the Supportive Housing Program for Persons on Parole.

This bill requires that on or before January 1, 2021, both of the following occur:

• Requires CDCR to do both of the following:
  • Transfer to HCD all funds appropriated from the General Fund to the ISMIP program on an annual basis for purposes of funding the program.
  • Work with HCD to do both of the following:
    • Establish a process for referral of eligible participants into the program, including participants from the ISMIP program upon the repeal of the ISMIP program.
    • Collaborate to provide data regarding recidivism for evaluating the program that includes outcomes, costs, and recidivism among participants, pursuant to existing law.
• Requires HCD to do all of the following:
  • Create the program to provide grants to counties to fund permanent supportive housing and wraparound services to people on parole experiencing mental illness and homelessness or risk of homelessness upon release from prison, using funding currently used for the ISMIP program.
  • Issue guidelines establishing the grant program and a notice of funding availability or request for proposals for five-year renewable grants to counties. Applicants shall demonstrate all of the following:
    • A viable plan to provide permanent supportive housing with services based on evidence-based practices.
    • A viable plan to provide evidence-based mental health treatment and services to participants through the operating county Medi-Cal mental health program and, for participants ineligible for Medi-Cal, through another source of funding, so long as medically necessary.
    • A viable plan to meet reporting requirements, as described.
  • Establish criteria to score counties applying for grant funds competitively. Scoring criteria shall include, but not be limited to, the following:
    • Need, which includes consideration of the number of individuals experiencing homelessness among people on parole, to the extent data is available.
    • The extent of coordination and collaboration between the applicant, the continuum of care covering the geographic area, and homeless service providers with a history of serving people reentering communities from incarceration, using Housing First core components.
    • The ability of the applicant or proposed subrecipient to administer or partner to administer funding.
    • The applicant’s documented partnerships with affordable and supportive housing providers in the jurisdiction.
    • Demonstrated commitment to address the needs of people experiencing homelessness and recent incarceration through existing programs or programs planned to be implemented within 12 months.
    • Proposed use of funds, the extent to which those uses are evidence based, and the extent to which the proposed use will lead to overall reductions in homelessness and recidivism.
    • In counties overseeing housing authorities, the extent to which an applicant demonstrates housing authorities have eliminated or plan to eliminate restrictions against people with arrests or criminal convictions to access publicly funded housing subsidies, notwithstanding restrictions mandated by HUD.

This bill provides that a person on parole is eligible for participation in this program if all of the following are applicable:

• The person has a serious mental disorder, as defined.
• The individual voluntarily chooses to participate.
• Either of the following applies:
  • The individual has been assigned a date of release within 60 to 180 days and is likely to become homeless upon release.
  • The person is currently experiencing homelessness as a person on parole.

This bill provides that a participant shall continue to receive housing and services funded under the program after discharge from parole, so long as the participant needs this assistance.

This bill requires that an applicant use program funds for the following eligible activities:

• One or both of the following:
  • Rental assistance in an amount the applicant identifies, but no more than twice the fair market rent for the community in which the applicant is providing rental assistance.
  • Operating subsidies in new and existing affordable or supportive housing units, in an amount the applicant identifies, but no more than fair market rent for the community in which the project is located. Operating subsidies may include operating reserves.
• Incentives to landlords, including, but not limited to, security deposits and holding fees.
• Services to assist participants in accessing permanent supportive housing and to promote housing stability in supportive housing.
• If necessary, operating support for interim interventions.

This bill requires that homeless service providers offer voluntary services, in accordance with existing law, in conjunction with housing, to obtain and maintain health and housing stability while participants are on parole and after discharge from parole, so long as the participant needs the services or the grant period ends.

This bill requires that services be offered to participants in their home, or be made as easily accessible to participants as possible and shall include, but are not limited to, all of the following:

• Case management services.
• Parole discharge planning.
• Links to other services, such as vocational, educational, and employment services, as needed.
• Benefit entitlement application and appeal assistance, as needed.
• Transportation assistance to obtain services and health care needed.
• Assistance obtaining appropriate identification, as needed.
• Links to Medi-Cal-funded mental health treatment, substance use disorder treatment, and medical treatment, as medically necessary.

This bill provides that for participants identified prior to release from prison, upon the provider’s receipt of referral and, in collaboration with the parole agent and, if appropriate, staff, the intake coordinator or case manager of the provider shall, when possible:

• Receive all prerelease assessments and discharge plans.
• Draft a plan for the participant’s transition into supportive housing.
• Engage the participant to actively participate in services upon release on a voluntary basis.
• Assist in obtaining identification for the participant, if necessary.
• Assist in applying for any benefits for which the participant is eligible.

This bill requires that upon referral, the provider work to promote housing stability, using the core components of Housing First.

This bill requires providers to identify and locate supportive housing opportunities for participants prior to release from state prison or as quickly upon release from state prison as possible, or as quickly as possible when participants are identified during parole.

This bill requires that the housing identified satisfy all of the following:

• Tenants have rights and responsibilities of tenancy and are required to sign a lease with a landlord or property manager that complies with the core components of Housing First.
• The housing is located in an apartment building, townhouse, or single-family home, including rent-subsidized apartments leased in the open market or set aside within privately owned buildings, or affordable or supportive housing receiving a publicly funded subsidy.
• The housing is not subject to community care licensing requirements or is exempt from licensing.

This bill requires HCD to distribute funds by executing contracts with awarded entities that shall be for a term of five years, subject to renewal. Requires that any funds not expended for eligible activities after a contract has expired revert to HCD for use for the program.

This bill requires a recipient to submit to HCD an annual report on a form issued by the department, pertaining to the recipient’s program or project selection process, contract expenditures, and progress toward meeting state and local goals, as demonstrated by the performance measures set forth in the application. Requires applicants to report the following data:

• The number of participants served.
• The types of services that were provided to program participants.
• The outcomes for participants, including the number who remain permanently housed, the number who ceased to participate in the program and the reason why, the number who returned to state prison or were incarcerated in county jails, the number of arrests among participants, and the number of days in jail or prison among participants, to the extent data are available.
• The number of participants who successfully completed parole.

This bill requires HCD to design an evaluation and hire an independent evaluator to assess outcomes from the program, which must include, but not be limited to, the following:

• The total number of parolees served and the type of interventions provided.
• The housing status of participants at 12, 24, and 36 months after entering the program, to the extent this data are available, including the number of participants remain in permanent housing.
• Recidivism among participants, including the number of arrests, days incarcerated, and incarceration in jail or prison.

This bill requires the recipient to report to HCD on the expenditures and activities of any subrecipients for each year of the term of the contract with the department until all funds awarded to a subrecipient have been expended as part of the annual report required.

This bill provides that HCD may monitor the expenditures and activities of the recipient, as the department deems necessary, to ensure compliance with program requirements.

This bill provides that HCD may, as it deems appropriate or necessary, request the repayment of funds from an administrative entity or pursue any other remedies available to it by law for failure to comply with program requirements.

This bill requires HCD to submit the evaluation, on or before February 1, 2024, to the chairs of the Joint Legislative Budget Committee, the Senate Committee on Budget and Fiscal Review, the Assembly Committee on Budget, the Senate and Assembly Committees on Public Safety, the Senate Committee on Transportation and Housing, and the Assembly Committee on Housing and Community Development.

This bill requires HCD to reimburse CDCR for the administrative costs of establishing and implementing a referral process for participants and for providing data needed to fulfill the requirements, as specified, of up to 2 percent of the total annual appropriation.

This bill provides that the language of this bill becomes operative upon a determination by the Department of Finance (DOF), in consultation with the Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO) that sufficient funding has been appropriated by the Legislature to HCD. Requires DOF to notify the Joint Legislative Budget Committee upon making a determination that sufficient funding has been appropriated.

This bill requires DOF, in consultation with the LAO, to conduct a study in order to make the determination that sufficient funding has been appropriated by the Legislature.

This bill provides that ISMIP is repealed once DOF has notified the Joint Legislative Budget Committee, as described.

COMMENTS

1. Need for This Bill

According to the author:

There is a strong link between incarceration and homelessness. People on parole who are homeless are seven times more likely to reoffend than those housed. This leads to a cycle of incarceration and homelessness. Stable housing reduces recidivism, strengthens our communities, and promotes equity.

Supportive housing is the combination of affordable housing that does not limit length of stay, and services that promote housing stability. It is an evidence-based intervention proven to reduce recidivism significantly.

The Legislature appropriated funding that led to the establishment of the Integrated Services for Mentally Ill Parolees (ISMIP) program in California’s 2007-08 budget to address this pressing crisis. The program receives annual funding intended to provide supportive housing and intensive case management for homeless parolees with mental health needs, and the Governor’s budget presents $16 million in 2019-20 toward ISMIP.

As administered, the current program is not in line with the Legislature’s intent. CDCR uses ISMIP funds to pay one-hundred percent of the cost of mental health treatment to a small number of parolees, instead of enrolling them into Medi-Cal where they can draw down a federal match of 50-90%. Additionally, only a small number of ISMIP participants are homeless, and the housing provided is temporary and not consistent with evidence-based housing practices.

A UCLA study found ISMIP fails to significantly reduce recidivism, and that participants receive only 10 months of mental health treatment on average, before dropping out of the program. SB 282 redirects ISMIP funding toward the Supportive Housing Program for Persons on Parole. It would do the following:

• Administer funds through the Department of Housing & Community Development (HCD) using evidence-based, culturally competent housing models;
• Require CDCR to refer parolees to the program created within HCD;
• Offer grants to counties working to break the cycle of incarceration and homelessness to fund supportive housing for people on parole with serious mental illness; and
• Require county grantees ensure participants can access mental health and substance use disorder treatment through Medi-Cal.

1. Integrated Services for Mentally Ill Parolees Program

AB 900 (Solorio), Chapter 7, Statutes of 2007, authorized CDCR to obtain day treatment and to contract for crisis care services for parolees with mental health problems in order to reduce recidivism. SB 1021 (Com. on Budget), Chapter 41, Statutes of 2012, expanded the ISMIP program. An analysis of SB 1021 described the program as “a supportive housing program that provides wraparound services to mentally ill parolees who are at risk of homelessness” and summarized the provisions of SB 1021 pertaining to the program as “improv[ing] the program by strengthening the housing component and prioritizing contracts with providers that can help provide a continuum of care after the offender is off of parole.” (Sen. Rules Com., Off. of Sen. Floor Analyses, Unfinished Business Analysis of Sen. Bill 1021 (2011-2012 Reg. Sess.), as amended Jun. 25, 2012, p. 4.) The Governor’s proposed 2019-2020 budget allocates $16 million for day treatment and crisis care for the mentally ill. (Governor’s Budget 2019-2020, Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, p. 21

<http://www.ebudget.ca.gov/2019-20/pdf/GovernorsBudget/5210/5225.pdf>

The proponents of this bill argue the ISMIP funds have not been used as the Legislature intended. Specifically, they assert that ISMIP funds have been used to serve a small number of parolees, and that the program is not focused on parolees who are homeless or at risk of homelessness.

This bill would redirect ISMIP funds to the Supportive Housing Program for Persons on Parole. CDCR would refer eligible parolees to the program, and the program’s funds would be administered by HCD as grants to the counties. The bill establishes the duties of HCD in creating and operationalizing the program, delineates eligibility criteria for participation in the program, specifies appropriate uses of program funds, and enumerates services that must be provided to program participants. The bill also includes various reporting requirements, evaluations, and monitoring of grant recipients for compliance with program requirements. Finally, the bill provides that its provisions are not operable until a determination by DOF, in consultation with the LAO, that sufficient funding has been appropriated by the Legislature to HCD, and upon making that determination, DOF is required to notify the Joint Legislative Budget Committee.

1. Research on the Importance of Stable Housing for Mentally Ill Parolees

A 2007 article in the Journal of Contemporary Health Law and Policy detailed the pervasive and difficult issues concerning mentally ill inmates and parolees in California:

Thousands of people with mental illness are currently serving terms in California prisons. These individuals receive inadequate medical and psychiatric care, serve longer terms than the average inmate, and are released without adequate preparation and support for their return to society. As a result, mentally ill offenders are more likely than general-population offenders to violate parole and return to prison.

(W. David Ball, Mentally Ill Prisoners in the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation: Strategies for Improving Treatment and Reducing Recidivism, p. 1 <https://scholarship.law.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?referer=&httpsredir=1&article=1106&context=jchlp> [as of Apr. 17, 2019].) Since the article was published, the California Prison Healthcare Correctional Healthcare Services has overseen the expenditure of hundreds of millions of dollars to comply with federal court orders to reform the prison healthcare system, including serious problems with mental health treatment.

Although conditions in the state’s prisons have improved since the article was published, the article’s recommendations regarding wraparound services for mentally ill parolees upon release from prison continue to be relevant. The ISMIP and this bill appear to implement or require these recommendations:

If intake diagnoses prisoners’ mental illnesses and the prison sentence treats them, release should prepare prisoners to treat their condition outside prison and, one hopes, avoid further incarceration. Recidivism can be reduced if re-entry is planned, if intervention is frontloaded, and if parole officers embrace the harm reduction principle (a public-health-oriented rather than criminal-justice-oriented approach to dealing with parole infractions). Investments in release programs should ultimately generate a virtuous cycle; when prisoner recidivism decreases, more resources are freed for treatment within the prison system and within non-penal mental health institutions.

The most effective post-release programs follow the integrated services model, concentrating on the period immediately following release and coordinating multiple services such as mental health, parole, therapeutic treatment for drug and alcohol addiction, housing, and employment. For example, prisoners about to be released should have an adequate supply of medication (at least seventy-two hours’ worth), some form of housing, and contacts with a coordinated team of correctional and social services staff.

Such efforts will aid the recently-released prisoners as they enter parole, seek permanent housing, pursue job training and employment, enroll in drug and alcohol abuse counseling, and receive restored government benefits such as Temporary Aid to Needy Families, Medi-Cal, Medicaid, Social Security, and State and Social Security Disability Insurance.

(Id. at p. 22.)

The article additionally addressed positive outcomes that resulted from providing the mentally ill, including former inmates, with stable housing. Specifically, the article described the programs implemented through AB 2034 (Steinberg), Chapter 518, Statutes of 2000—a continuation of an earlier pilot project to provide grants to counties and cities for mental health treatment of the homeless and those at risk of becoming homeless or incarcerated. Stable housing was shown to substantially reduce recidivism:

Over three years, participants in AB 2034 pilot programs reduced days spent in incarceration by 72.1% and the number of incarcerations by 45.9%. Participants’ ability to secure housing was a foundation for successful treatment. What has become apparent to most providers and stakeholders is the therapeutic significance of having a stable place to live, and the foundation this provides for individuals’ ability and desire to make progress in other aspects of their lives. (Internal quotation marks and citations have been omitted in the material quoted from the article.)

(Id. at 29-30.)

-- END --

SENATE COMMITTEE ON HOUSING

Senator Scott Wiener, Chair

2019 - 2020 Regular

Bill No: SB 282 Hearing Date: 4/2/2019

SUBJECT: Supportive housing for parolees

DIGEST: This bill requires the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation (CDCR) to transfer all funds from the Integrated Services for Mentally Ill Parolees (ISMIP) program to the California Department of Housing and Development (HCD) for the newly created Supportive Housing Program for Persons on Parole, to provide permanent supportive housing and wraparound services to mentally ill parolees who are homeless or at risk of homelessness.

ANALYSIS:

Existing law:

1. Establishes ISMIP, which provides evidence-based, comprehensive mental health and supportive services, including housing subsidies, to parolees who suffer from mental illness and are at risk of homelessness.
2. Establishes the responsibility of HCD over the development and implementation of housing policy through various programs, including among others, financial and other assistance to local public entities and nonprofit organizations for housing-related services.
3. Defines “Housing First” to mean the evidence-based model that uses housing as a tool, rather than a reward, for recovery and that centers on providing or connecting homeless people to permanent housing as quickly as possible. Housing First providers offer services as needed and requested on a voluntary basis and that do not make housing contingent on participation in services.

This bill:

1. Creates the Supportive Housing Program for Persons on Parole (Program) under HCD.
2. Requires CDCR, by January 1, 2021, to transfer all ISMIP funds to HCD to fund the Program and work with HCD to establish a process for referral of eligible participants into the program, including current ISMIP program participants, and collaborate to provide recidivism data, including outcomes and cost, to evaluate the program.
3. Requires HCD, by January 1, 2021, to:
   1. Create the Program to provide grants to counties using funding from the ISMIP fund. These fund shall finance permanent supportive housing and wraparound services for people on parole who are experiencing mental illness and homelessness, or who are at risk of homelessness upon release from prison.
   2. Issue guidelines for the Program and a notice of funding availability or request for proposals for five-year renewable grants to counties. Applicants shall demonstrate all of the following:
      1. A viable plan to provide permanent supportive housing with services based on evidence-based practices.
      2. A viable plan to provide evidence-based mental health treatment and services to participants through the operating county Medi-Cal mental health program. Participants ineligible for Medi-Cal will be treated using another source of funding.
      3. A viable plan to meet reporting requirements.
4. Requires HCD to establish competitive criteria to score counties applying for grant funds. Scoring criteria shall include, but not be limited to:
   1. Need, including consideration of the number of individuals on parole who are experiencing homelessness, to the extent data is available.
   2. The extent of coordination and collaboration between the applicant, the corresponding continuum of care, and homeless service providers with a history of serving people exiting incarceration, using Housing First core components.
   3. The ability of the applicant or proposed sub-recipient to administer or partner to administer funding.
   4. The applicant’s documented partnerships with affordable and supportive housing providers in the jurisdiction.
   5. Demonstrated commitment to address the needs of people experiencing homelessness and recent incarceration through existing programs or programs to be implemented within 12 months.
   6. Proposed use of funds, the extent to which those uses are evidence-based, and the extent to which the proposed use will lead to overall reductions in homelessness and recidivism.
   7. In counties overseeing housing authorities, the extent to which an applicant demonstrates housing authorities have eliminated, or plan to eliminate, restrictions against people with arrests or criminal convictions to access publicly funded housing subsidies, notwithstanding restrictions mandated by HUD.
5. Establishes eligibility for the program to include persons on parole who meet all of the following:
   1. The person has a serious mental disorder.
   2. The individual voluntarily chooses to participate.
   3. Either (1) the individual has been assigned a date of release within 60 to 180 days and is likely to become homeless upon release, or (2) the person is currently experiencing homelessness as a person on parole.
   4. Provides that a participant shall remain eligible for the program after discharge from parole, as long as the participant needs the assistance.
6. Limits an applicant’s use of the program funds to:
   1. Rental assistance, operating subsidies in new and existing affordable or supportive housing units, or both.
   2. Incentives to landlords, including, but not limited to, security deposits and holding fees.
   3. Services to assist participants in accessing permanent supportive housing and to promote housing stability in supportive housing.
   4. If necessary, support for interim interventions.
7. Requires homeless service providers funded by this program to offer voluntary services after participants are discharged from parole, as long as the participants need the services or the grant period ends.
8. Provides that services shall be offered to participants in their home, or be made as easily accessible to participants, including but not limited to:
   1. Case management services.
   2. Parole discharge planning.
   3. Links to other services, such as vocational, educational, and employment services, as needed.
   4. Benefit entitlement application and appeal assistance, as needed.
   5. Transportation assistance to obtain services and health care needed.
   6. Assistance obtaining appropriate identification, as needed.
   7. Links to Medi-Cal-funded mental health treatment, substance use disorder treatment, and medical treatment, as necessary.
9. Requires the intake coordinator or case manager to take the following steps once participants are identified, prior to release from prison:
   1. Receive all pre-release assessments and discharge plans.
   2. Draft a plan for the participant’s transition into supportive housing.
   3. Engage the participant to actively participate in services upon release on a voluntary basis.
   4. Assist in obtaining identification for the participant, if necessary.
   5. Assist in applying for any benefits for which the participant is eligible.
10. Upon referral to the provider (organizations that contract with a participating county for the purpose of providing services to participants for this program), requires the provider to work towards promoting housing stability using the core components of Housing First.
11. Requires providers to identify and locate supportive housing opportunities for participants prior to release from state prison, or as quickly as possible upon release, or when participants are identified during parole.
12. Requires housing provided by the program to satisfy all of the following:
    1. Participants have rights and responsibilities of tenancy and are required to sign a lease with a landlord or property manager that complies with the core components of Housing First.
    2. The housing is located in an apartment building, townhouse, or single-family home, including rent-subsidized apartments leased in the open market or set aside within privately owned buildings, or affordable or supportive housing receiving a publicly funded subsidy.
    3. The housing is not subject to or is exempt from community care licensing requirements.
13. Requires recipients to submit an annual report to HCD and to the Legislature by February 1, 2024, pertaining to the recipient’s program or project selection process, contract expenditures, activities, and progress toward meeting state and local goals until all funds have been expended. Applicants shall report the following data:
    1. The number of participants served.
    2. The types of services provided to program participants.
    3. The outcomes for participants, including the number who remain permanently housed, the number who ceased to participate in the program and the reason why, the number who returned to state prison or were incarcerated in county jails, the number of arrests among participants, and the number of days in jail or prison among participants, to the extent data is available.
    4. The number of participants who successfully completed parole.
14. Requires HCD to assess the outcomes of the program, including but not limited to:
    1. The total number of parolees served and the type of interventions provided.
    2. The housing status of participants at 12, 24, and 36 months after entering the program, including the number of participants that remain in permanent housing.
    3. Recidivism among participants, including the number of arrests, days incarcerated, and incarceration in jail or prison.
15. Requires HCD to reimburse CDCR for administrative costs, as specified.
16. Provides that this bill is subject to legislative or budget appropriation.
17. Repeals the ISMIP program once the Program comes into effect.

COMMENTS

1. Purpose. According to the author, there is a pressing need for housing and wrap-around services for mentally ill individuals on parole who are experiencing homelessness. There is a strong link between incarceration and homelessness; people on parole, who are also experiencing homelessness, are seven times more likely to recidivate than parolees who are housed. Individuals released from prison face significant obstacles in obtaining housing stability, while people experiencing homelessness suffer higher rates of chronic health conditions. Mentally ill parolees who experience homelessness tend to cycle between homelessness, shelters, hospitals and jail. Providing stable housing for this vulnerable population reduces recidivism, strengthens communities and promotes equity. The Legislature established the ISMIP program in California’s 2007-08 budget to address this crisis. The ISMIP program receives annual funding to provide supportive housing and intensive case management for homeless individuals on parole who are also experiencing mental health needs. Since its inception, the ISMIP program has not met its legislative intent. To ensure this funding meets the Legislature’s intent of providing housing, this bill redirects ISMIP funding toward the Supportive Housing Program for Persons on Parole. This bill will allocate the funding to HCD, whose expertise is in housing to provide grants to counties to fund evidence-based supportive housing for people on parole who are experiencing homelessness and serious mental health issues. This program also requires grantee counties to offer participants mental health treatment through Medi-Cal. Study after study shows that supportive housing reduces recidivism among people on parole, while also improving health outcomes. Through existing resources, SB 282 will improve our state’s response to homelessness among people on parole.
2. Mental Illness and Recidivism. According to CDCR, over 30% of prisoners in California receive treatment for a serious mental disorder; this is an increase of 150% since 2000. Even though California has made an effort to provide health care for mentally ill prisoners, in 2018 there were over 800 inmates in county jails who needed these services and were waiting for space in state hospitals or other treatment facilities. The prevalence and severity of mental disorders among prisoners is expected to continue rising in the coming years. Prisoners experiencing mental illness experience a higher rate of recidivism than those without mental disorders. Homeless parolees are seven times more likely to return to prison; parolees experiencing mental illness are even more vulnerable to recidivism due to homelessness. In the United States, more than 10% of those going in and out of jails and prisons experience homelessness in the months preceding and following their incarceration. The lack of affordable housing leaves ex-offenders competing for limited resources with others who have no criminal record, exacerbating homelessness among parolees. Furthermore, mental illness can impede an individual’s ability to function efficiently enough to obtain work and maintain housing. The author’s intent is to target this vulnerable population by providing permanent supportive housing and wraparound services in order to reduce their chances of returning to prison.
3. Effective practices to reduce recidivism. According to the Legislative Analyst’s Office (LAO), an incarcerated prisoner costs California about $81,000 a year, while the rate of recidivism in California has remained around 50% in the past decade. The importance of transitional services in achieving the re-entry of prisoners to society is well documented; these transitional services include services and activities designed to help an inmate who is pending release to live independently, work, secure and maintain a residence, and maintain health among other things. These services are particularly important for mentally ill parolees, who may be receiving medical treatment for their condition while in prison and will need continuing treatment once released. The integrated services model concentrates on the period of time immediately after a prisoner is released and coordinates multiple services so the individual can take advantage of them as soon as possible; recidivism can reduce if re-entry is planned efficiently. In addition, there is outstanding evidence linking permanent housing to overall health. Studies have also shown the efficiency of supportive housing in providing stable shelter for individuals over time. Rates of housing retention have been high in various populations utilizing supportive housing, including those suffering with mental illness. This bill aims to connect parolees suffering from mental illnesses with these integrated services, with an emphasis on permanent supportive housing, in order to keep this population out of prison.
4. ISMIP. ISMIP was established under CDCR to provide evidence-based mental health and supportive services, including housing, for mentally ill parolees. The intended purpose of ISMIP is to reintegrate parolees suffering from mental illness into the community while reducing recidivism costs. However, according to a UCLA evaluation of the ISMIP program, the rate of recidivism has not decreased significantly among ISMIP participants. According to the author, CDCR has connected individuals on parole who are suffering from mental illness with services, but has failed to provide permanent supportive housing and instead placed them in temporary housing such as group homes or drug treatment centers. ISMIP funds have also been utilized to cover the cost of mental health services, even when participants may have been eligible for Medi-Cal. According to the California Housing Partnership Corporation, if participants used Medi-Cal for mental health services, the federal government would reimburse 50-90% of the cost. This bill requires eligible participants to receive mental health treatment through the county Medi-Cal system as opposed to utilizing ISMIP funds to cover these expenses.
5. Supportive Housing Program for Persons on Parole. This bill strongly emphasizes Housing First practices to promote housing stability for participating mentally ill individuals on parole. Although HCD typically funds programs for the construction and development of housing, this program would require HCD to fund services such as rental assistance for supportive housing and wraparound services that promote long-term housing stability, recovery from addiction, education, and employment. Even though HCD does not typically provide or fund for services, HCD has experience funding programs such as California Emergency Solutions and Housing (CESH), which, among various functions, provides services such as rental assistance and housing relocation and stabilization services.
6. Eligibility of parolees. This program is aimed at mentally ill individuals on parole but does not put a time limit on their eligibility after discharge from parole. Moving forward, the author may wish to consider either adding a time line for eligibility after a participant leaves parole, or amending the bill to provide services to relocate participants to other supportive housing programs, such as No Place Like Home, in order to effectively serve those currently on parole. Alternatively, the author may wish to consider prioritizing individuals who are currently on parole, in order to prevent parolees from being excluded from this program due to lack of resources.
7. Double-referral. This bill is double-referred to the Public Safety Committee.

Related Legislation:

AB 1405 (Gloria, 2019) — requires CDCR to enter into contracts to provide permanent housing for individuals exiting prison who are at risk of homelessness or are experiencing homelessness. This bill is in the Assembly Public Safety Committee.

SB 1010 (Beall, 2017) — would have created the Supportive Housing Pilot Program for mentally ill parolees who are homeless or at risk of homelessness. SB 1010 died in the Assembly Appropriations Committee.

SB 1013 (Beall, 2015) — would have required service providers in the ISMIP program to provide parolee participants with adequate housing and related assistance, including a path to permanent housing and independent living. SB 1013 was held in the Senate Appropriations Committee Suspense file.

SB 1021 (Budget Committee, Chapter 41, Statues of 2012) — established the ISMIP program.

FISCAL EFFECT: Appropriation: No Fiscal Com.: Yes Local: No

POSITIONS: (Communicated to the committee before noon on Wednesday,

March 27, 2019.)

SUPPORT:

Corporation For Supportive Housing (Co-Sponsor)
Housing California (Co-Sponsor)
PolicyLink (Co-Sponsor)
Anti-Recidivism Coalition
California Council Of Community Behavioral Health Agencies
California Housing Partnership
California Public Defenders Association
California YIMBY
Disability Rights California
Kings/Tulare Homeless Alliance
Legal Services For Prisoners With Children
Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority
National Association Of Social Workers, California Chapter
Steinberg Institute

OPPOSITION:

None received.

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