Amended
IN
Senate
April 15, 2021 |
Amended
IN
Senate
March 09, 2021 |
Introduced by Senator Dahle (Principal coauthor: Assembly Member Megan Dahle) (Coauthors: Senators Grove, Hurtado, Kamlager, and Nielsen) (Coauthors: Assembly Members Cunningham, |
January 19, 2021 |
Under existing law, the State Department of Health Care Services is responsible for administering various programs relating to mental health, including the School-Based Early Mental Health Intervention and Prevention Services for Children Act of 1991, which authorizes the Director of Health Care Services, in consultation with the Superintendent of Public Instruction, to provide matching grants to local educational agencies to pay the state share of the costs of providing
school-based early mental health intervention and prevention services to eligible pupils at schoolsites of eligible pupils, subject to the availability of funding each year.
(a)(1)The State Department of Health Care Services, through its Mental Health Services Division, and in consultation with the Department of Education, shall, upon appropriation by the Legislature for these purposes, provide up to five hundred million dollars ($500,000,000) in grants each year to provide mental health services for pupils, as specified in this part.
(2)The grants described in paragraph (1) shall be used for the exclusive purpose of providing mental health services for pupils affected by school closures and distance learning requirements resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.
(3)The department shall allocate funding to each local
educational agency on a per unit of average daily attendance basis, using the most current data available pursuant to Section 41601 of the Education Code, and to each private school pursuant to a substantially similar methodology, as determined by the departments.
(b)For purposes of this part,“local educational agency” means a school district, county office of education, and charter school.
(a)This part shall be implemented only if funds for its purposes are appropriated by the Legislature in the annual Budget Act. Any available state and federal funding may be the source of the appropriation for purposes of this part.
(b)It is the intent of the Legislature that moneys included in the annual Budget Act for purposes described in this part would count towards satisfying the minimum funding obligation under Section 8 of Article XVI of the California Constitution.