READ THE CALIFORNIA BROWN SHIRTS BILL. How University of California will be involved in INTERROGATIONS of children!
The latest amendment now before the assembly:
BILL NUMBER: AB 2068 AMENDED
BILL TEXT
AMENDED IN SENATE JUNE 22, 2000
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MAY 10, 2000
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 25, 2000
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY APRIL 6, 2000
AMENDED IN ASSEMBLY MARCH 27, 2000
INTRODUCED BY Assembly Member Steinberg
FEBRUARY 22, 2000
An act to amend Section 124040 of the Health and Safety
Code, and to add Section 4011.6 to the Welfare and Institutions
An act to add Sections 4011.6 and 4011.7 to the
Welfare and Institutions Code, relating to child health.
LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST
AB 2068, as amended, Steinberg. Child mental health.
(1) Existing law requires the governing board of each county to
establish a community child health and disability prevention program
for the purpose of providing early and periodic assessments of the
health status of children in the county.
Existing law requires that each program include a health and
development history for each participating child.
This bill would require that the health and development history
include recommendations set forth in a specified publication.
By establishing this additional requirement, this bill would
impose a state-mandated local program.
(2) Existing
Existing law imposes various functions and duties on the
State Department of Mental Health with respect to the administration
and provision of various mental health services.
This bill would declare that it is the policy of the state that
whenever a provider determines that a schoolaged child to whom he or
she is providing services has special mental health needs, the
service provider shall inform the child's parents that the child may
be eligible for special education and related services, and shall
inform the parent that he or she may request a referral from the
school of attendance.
It
The bill would also require the department to provide a copy
of this policy to each county mental health director and advise each
county to provide information to all county-funded providers, and to
transmit this policy to the licensing body of each mental health
professional, to the trade associations representing mental health
professionals, and to behavioral health plans and advise that these
entities provide this information to their providers of mental health
services.
(3) The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse
local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the
state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that
reimbursement, including the creation of a State Mandates Claims Fund
to pay the costs of mandates that do not exceed $1,000,000 statewide
and other procedures for claims whose statewide costs exceed
$1,000,000.
This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates
determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state,
reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these
statutory provisions.
This bill, in addition, would require that a panel of experts,
consisting of representatives from specified entities, be convened
under the auspices of the University of California to develop
guidelines and recommendations for the identification and treatment
of childhood mental disorders and related issues.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes.
State-mandated local program: yes no .
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Section 124040 of the Health and Safety
SECTION 1. The Legislature finds and declares all of the
following:
(a) The Surgeon General has reported the following:
(1) Each year one in five children will suffer from a mental
disorder.
(2) One in five of these children or 5 percent of all children
suffer from extreme functional impairment.
(3) Effective treatment exists for many mental disorders in
children.
(4) Primary care and schools are major settings for the potential
recognition in children and adolescents, yet trained staff are
limited.
(b) Mental health disorders that go untreated often increase in
severity leading to significant problems for the child in school, at
home, and in social situations, that often lead to special education,
out-of-home placement, or juvenile justice system problems.
(c) Scheduled comprehensive medical examinations by a child's
physician represent one of the best opportunities to screen children
for potentially significant mental disorders and to consult with the
child's family regarding the potential need for referrals for mental
health services.
(d) Whenever a child's physician is providing a comprehensive
medical examination and screening for significant health problems,
that examination should also include an age appropriate screening for
significant mental disorders.
(e) A panel of experts should develop recommendations and
guidelines on the best clinical methods for detecting childhood
mental disorders and the most appropriate processes and settings for
screening for such conditions and providing access to treatment.
Code is amended to read:
124040. The governing body of each county or counties shall
establish a community child health and disability prevention program
for the purpose of providing early and periodic assessments of the
health status of children in the county or counties by July 1, 1974.
However, this shall be the responsibility of the department for all
counties that contract with the state for health services. Contract
counties, at the option of the board of supervisors, may provide
services pursuant to this article in the same manner as other county
programs, provided the option is exercised prior to the beginning of
each fiscal year. Each plan shall include, but is not limited to,
the following requirements:
(a) Outreach and educational services.
(b) Agreements with public and private facilities and
practitioners to carry out the programs.
(c) Health screening and evaluation services including, for all
children eligible for Medi-Cal, a physical examination, immunizations
appropriate for their age and health history, and laboratory
procedures appropriate for their age and population group.
(d) Referral for diagnosis or treatment when needed, including,
for all children eligible for Medi-Cal, referral for treatment by a
provider participating in the Medi-Cal program of the conditions
detected, and methods for assuring referral is carried out.
(e) Recordkeeping and program evaluations.
The health screening and evaluation part of each community child
health and disability prevention program plan shall include, but is
not limited to, the following for each child:
(a) A health and development history, including recommendations
set forth in policy paper No. "RE9832", of the American Academy of
Pediatrics, dated January 1999.
(b) An assessment of physical growth.
(c) An examination for obvious physical defects.
(d) Ear, nose, mouth, and throat inspection, including inspection
of teeth and gums, and for all children three years of age and older
who are eligible for Medi-Cal, referral to a dentist participating in
the Medi-Cal program.
(e) Screening tests for vision, hearing, anemia, tuberculosis,
diabetes, and urinary tract conditions.
(f) An assessment of nutritional status.
(g) An assessment of immunization status.
(h) Where appropriate, testing for sickle cell trait, lead
poisoning, and other tests that may be necessary to the
identification of children with potential disabilities requiring
diagnosis and possibly treatment.
(i) For all children eligible for Medi-Cal, necessary assistance
with scheduling appointments for services and with transportation.
(j) The department shall report to the Legislature, by April 15,
1986, on all necessary steps to improve access to preventive dental
care for children eligible for Medi-Cal, such as streamlining
reimbursement procedures, increasing fees for specific preventive
dental procedures, or increasing fees in specific geographic areas.
(k) Dentists receiving referrals of children eligible for Medi-Cal
under this section shall employ procedures to advise the child's
parent or parents of the need for and scheduling of annual
appointments.
Standards for procedures to carry out health screening and
evaluation services and to establish the age at which particular
tests should be carried out shall be established by the director,
with review and recommendation by the board. However, a governing
body may include additional health screening and evaluation
procedures in its program if approved by the director and the board.
Each community child health and disability prevention program
shall, pursuant to standards set by the director, establish a record
system that contains a health case history for each child so that
costly and unnecessary repetition of screening, immunization and
referral will not occur and appropriate health treatment will be
facilitated as specified in Section 124085.
SEC. 2. Section 4011.6 is added to the Welfare and Institutions
Code, to read:
4011.6. (a) It is the policy of the state that whenever a mental
health service provider determines that a schoolaged child to whom he
or she is providing services has special mental health needs, the
service provider shall inform the child's parents that the child may
be eligible for special education and related services, and shall
inform the parent that the parent may request a referral for
assessment of the pupil from the school of attendance.
(b) The department shall provide a copy of the policy specified in
subdivision (a) to each county mental health director and advise
each county to provide information to all county-funded providers.
The department shall also transmit this policy to the licensing body
of each mental health professional, to the trade associations
representing mental health professionals, and to behavioral health
plans and advise that these entities provide this information to
their providers of mental health services.
SEC. 3. Notwithstanding Section 17610 of the Government Code, if
the Commission on State Mandates determines that this act contains
costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to local agencies and
school districts for those costs shall be made pursuant to Part 7
(commencing with Section 17500) of Division 4 of Title 2 of the
Government Code. If the statewide cost of the claim for
reimbursement does not exceed one million dollars ($1,000,000),
reimbursement shall be made from the State Mandates Claims Fund.
SEC. 3. Section 4011.7 is added to the Welfare and Institutions
Code, to read:
4011.7. (a) A panel of experts shall be convened under the
auspices of the University of California to develop guidelines and
recommendations for the identification and treatment of childhood
mental disorders. The panel shall consist of members from the
university's faculty and representatives from the State Department of
Health Services, the State Department of Mental Health, the State
Department of Education, the State Department of Social Services, the
American Academy of Pediatrics, the California Academy of Family
Physicians, the California Medical Association, California
Psychiatric Association, California Psychological Association, Cathie
Wright Technical Assistance Center for Children's Mental Health
Services, California Mental Health Directors Association California
Council of Community Mental Health Agencies, Mental health
Association in California, united Advocates for Children of
California, Mental Health Advocates for Children and Youth,
Association of California School Administrators, California School
Boards Association, California Teachers Association, California
Parent Teacher Association, school nurses, and other relevant experts
and organizations.
(b) The panel shall study and make recommendations upon the
following issues:
(1) The best screening instruments to be utilized for detecting
childhood mental disorders, which ones are most appropriate for which
ages, and which are best for use by parents, teachers, mental health
professionals, adolescents, pediatricians, family physicians, and
others.
(2) Methods to assure confidentiality of the information included
in the screening instruments and other steps necessary to protect the
privacy of the child and the family of the child.
(3) The settings in which others outside of the child's family are
in a position to observe symptoms suggesting a childhood mental
disorder and the steps that should be taken to make that information
available to the family of the child.
(4) The processes already in existence and any additional
processes that should be established to access available private and
public sources of funding to pay for necessary mental health
services.
(5) The additional measures that should be established to ensure
that childhood mental disorders are detected at the earliest possible
time and that prompt referrals are made to access available
privately and publicly funded mental health services to treat these
disorders.