Amended  IN  Senate  January 11, 2024
Amended  IN  Senate  January 03, 2024

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2023–2024 REGULAR SESSION

Senate Bill
No. 26

Introduced by Senator Umberg
(Coauthor: Senator Rubio)

December 05, 2022

An act to add Article 3.6 (commencing with Section 128460) to Chapter 5 of Part 3 of Division 107 of the Health and Safety Code, relating to health professions.


LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST


SB 26, as amended, Umberg. Mental health professions: CARE Scholarship Program.
Existing law, the Community Assistance, Recovery, and Empowerment (CARE) Act, authorizes specified adult persons to petition a civil court to create a voluntary CARE agreement or a court-ordered CARE plan and implement services, to be provided by county behavioral health agencies, to provide behavioral health care, including stabilization medication, housing, and other enumerated services, to adults who are currently experiencing a severe mental illness and have a diagnosis identified in the disorder class schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders, and who meet other specified criteria.
Existing law requires the Department of Health Care Access and Information to perform various duties with respect to implementing health professions scholarship and loan programs.
This bill would, upon appropriation, establish the Community Assistance, Recovery, and Empowerment (CARE) Scholarship Program. The bill would require the department to develop the program, as prescribed, to provide annual scholarships to individuals pursuing a degree program that meets the requirements for licensure as a marriage and family therapist, as defined. administer the annual scholarship for purposes of increasing the number of culturally competent licensed marriage and family therapists, clinical social workers, professional clinical counselors, and psychologists, as specified. The bill would require scholarship recipients to agree to work for county behavioral health agencies in meeting its needs and obligations to implement the CARE Act for a minimum of 3 years. years upon being licensed to practice in this state. The bill would require the department to post information related to the scholarship on its internet website.
Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: YES   Local Program: NO  

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:


SECTION 1.

 The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:
(a) Mental health and homelessness remain critical issues for the State of California, with over 150,000 homeless individuals, many of whom are experiencing mental health issues. While the Community Assistance, Recovery, and Empowerment (CARE) Act was enacted to provide community-based behavioral health services and supports to tackle these issues, California cannot effectively implement the CARE Court program without increasing must increase the number of mental health practitioners that are willing to work for this program.
(b) Due to the costs of higher education in mental and behavioral health, graduates are incentivized to work for private industry to subsidize the costs of their education. As a result, very few mental health practitioners work for the public at the state and county level, making it increasingly difficult for the state to provide adequate mental and behavioral health care to its vulnerable citizens.
(c) California must increase the number of culturally competent, licensed mental health practitioners that are trained and licensed to diagnose mental health disorders among unhoused individuals by incentivizing mental health practitioner graduates to work with county behavioral services health agencies in implementing the needs of the CARE Court program.

SEC. 2.

 Article 3.6 (commencing with Section 128460) is added to Chapter 5 of Part 3 of Division 107 of the Health and Safety Code, to read:
Article  3.6. Community Assistance, Recovery, and Empowerment (CARE) Scholarship Program

128460.
 (a) There is hereby created the Community Assistance, Recovery, and Empowerment (CARE) Scholarship Program within the department.
(b) The department shall administer an annual scholarship for purposes of increasing the number of culturally competent, competent licensed marriage and family therapists therapists, clinical social workers, professional clinical counselors, and psychologists needed to work for county behavioral health agencies to implement the CARE Act.

(c)The department shall make recommendations to the director concerning all of the following:

(1)A standard contractual agreement to be signed by the director and any licensed marriage and family therapist that would require the licensed marriage and family therapist who receives a scholarship under the program to serve in a county behavioral health agency in support of the county’s CARE Act needs and obligations for a minimum of three years.

(2)The maximum allowable total scholarship amount per individual licensed marriage and family therapist.

(3)The maximum allowable annual scholarship amount per individual licensed marriage and family therapist.

(c) The department shall develop the necessary requirements to implement the scholarship program.
(d) Applicants for the scholarship shall meet all of the following requirements:
(1) The applicant is pursuing a degree program that meets the requirements for licensure as a marriage and family therapist pursuant to Chapter 13 (commencing with Section 4980) of Division 2 of the Business and Professions Code. therapist, clinical social worker, professional clinical counselor, or psychologist pursuant to the laws of this state.
(2) The applicant agrees to work for a county behavioral health agency in support of the county’s CARE Act needs and obligations for a minimum of three years upon licensure as a marriage and family therapist. being licensed to practice in this state.
(e) The department shall post information regarding the CARE Scholarship Program on its internet website.

(f)For purposes of this article, a “marriage and family therapist” is an individual licensed pursuant to Chapter 13 (commencing with Section 4980) of Division 2 of the Business and Professions Code.

(g)

(f) This article shall be operative upon appropriation by the Legislature.