SECTIONS 11970.1-11970.35 - California Statutes

HEALTH AND SAFETY CODE

SECTION 11970.1-11970.35

11970.1. (a) This article shall be known and may be cited as the
Comprehensive Drug Court Implementation Act of 1999.
(b) This article shall be administered by the State Department of
Alcohol and Drug Programs.
(c) The department and the Judicial Council shall design and
implement this article through the Drug Court Partnership Executive
Steering Committee established under the Drug Court Partnership Act
of 1998 pursuant to Section 11970, for the purpose of funding
cost-effective local drug court systems for adults, juveniles, and
parents of children who are detained by, or are dependents of, the
juvenile court.

11970.2. (a) A county alcohol and drug program administrator and
the presiding judge in the county shall develop and submit a
comprehensive multiagency drug court plan for implementing
cost-effective local drug court systems for adults, juveniles, and
parents of children who are detained by, or are dependents of, the
juvenile court to be eligible for funding under this chapter. The
plan shall do all of the following:
(1) Describe existing programs that serve substance abusing
adults, juveniles, and parents of children who are detained by, or
are dependents of, the juvenile court.
(2) Provide a local action plan for implementing cost-effective
drug court systems, including any or all of the following drug court
systems:
(A) Drug courts operating pursuant to Sections 1000 to 1000.5,
inclusive, of the Penal Code.
(B) Drug courts for juvenile offenders.
(C) Drug courts for parents of children who are detained by, or
are dependents of, the juvenile court.
(D) Drug courts for parents of children in family law cases
involving custody and visitation issues.
(E) Other drug court systems that are approved by the Drug Court
Partnership Executive Steering Committee.
(3) Develop information-sharing systems to ensure that county
actions are fully coordinated, and to provide data for measuring the
success of the local action plan in achieving its goals.
(4) Identify outcome measures that will determine the cost
effectiveness of the local action plan.
(b) (1) Except as provided in paragraph (4), the department, in
collaboration with the Judicial Council, shall distribute funds to
eligible counties using the two thousand five hundred dollars
($2,500) per million/remainder per capita methodology, subject to
appropriation in the Budget Act. Funding shall be used to supplement,
rather than supplant, existing programs. Funding for counties that
opt not to participate in the program shall be distributed on a per
capita basis to participating counties.
(2) Funds distributed to counties shall be used for programs that
are identified in the local plan. Acceptable uses may include, but
are not limited to, any of the following: drug court coordinators,
case management, training, drug testing, treatment, transportation,
and other costs related to the implementation of the plan.
(3) No funds shall be distributed unless the applicant makes
available resources in an amount equal to at least 10 percent of the
amount of the funds distributed in years one and two, and 20 percent
of the amount of the funds distributed in years three, four, and
five.
(4) Subject to an appropriation by the Budget Act for this purpose
in the 2004-05 fiscal year, and for any subsequent fiscal year for
which an appropriation has been provided, the department shall
provide a supplemental allocation of funding for the planning or
expansion of new or existing dependency drug court programs in
selected counties. The department, in collaboration with the Judicial
Council and with input from the State Department of Social Services,
shall select counties for this supplemental allocation of funds for
dependency drug courts on the basis of a determination, in its
discretion, that a selected county is prepared to implement or expand
a dependency drug court or to engage in planning for the development
of court systems and has a good record of complying with program
rules in the past. The department may prioritize funding allocations
for a county that has included a dependency drug court proposal in
its system improvement plan for child welfare services. Any county
that is selected for and accepts a supplemental allocation of
dependency court funds shall, pursuant to this paragraph, agree not
to use state funds to supplant any existing resources now used by
that county for a dependency drug court. The department, in
collaboration with the Judicial Council and with input from the State
Department of Social Services, shall adopt appropriate data
collection and reporting requirements to measure program outcomes and
cost-effectiveness, including the amount of foster care savings
realized.
(c) The department, with concurrence from the Judicial Council,
shall establish minimum standards, funding schedules, and procedures
for funding programs.
(d) The department, in collaboration with the Judicial Council,
shall create an evaluation design for the Comprehensive Drug Court
Implementation Act of 1999, that will assess the effectiveness of the
program. The department, together with the Judicial Council, shall
develop an interim report to be submitted to the Legislature on or
before March 1, 2004, and a final analysis of the program in a report
to be submitted to the Legislature on or before March 1, 2005.

11970.2. (a) It is the intent of the Legislature that dependency
drug courts be funded unless an evaluation of cost avoidance as
provided in this section with respect to child welfare services and
foster care demonstrates that the program is not cost-effective.
(b) The State Department of Social Services, in collaboration with
the State Department of Alcohol and Drug Programs and the Judicial
Council, shall conduct an evaluation of cost avoidance with respect
to child welfare services and foster care pursuant to this section.
These parties shall do all of the following:
(1) Consult with legislative staff and at least one representative
of an existing dependency drug court program who has experience
conducting an evaluation of cost avoidance, to clarify the elements
to be reviewed.
(2) Identify requirements, such as specific measures of cost
savings and data to be evaluated, and methodology for use of control
cases for comparison data.
(3) Whenever possible, use existing evaluation case samples to
gather the necessary additional data.
(c) The State Department of Social Services, along with the State
Department of Alcohol and Drug Programs and Judicial Council, shall
provide a report to the Legislature on the outcomes of dependency
drug court programs and the amount of savings realized in foster care
out-of-home placement and child welfare services during budget
hearings for the 2006-07 budget.

11970.3. (a) It is the intent of the Legislature that this chapter
be funded by an appropriation in the annual Budget Act.
(b) Up to 5 percent of the amount appropriated by the annual
Budget Act is available to the department and the Judicial Council to
administer the program, including technical assistance to counties
and development of an evaluation component.

11970.35. (a) Any funding provided for this chapter in the 2003
Budget Act, and in subsequent fiscal years, shall be allocated, to
counties that participated, in this program during the 2002-03 fiscal
year in accordance with this section.
(b) A county may use funds, described in subdivision (a) to
support drug courts serving adult offenders, subject to both of the
following conditions:
(1) Any increased funding provided in the 2003 Budget Act that
exceeds the funding level provided in the 2002 Budget Act shall be
used exclusively to support drug courts that accept only defendants
who have been convicted of felonies and placed on formal probation,
conditioned on their participation in the drug court program. These
drug courts shall operate in a manner that is consistent with the
guidelines developed by the Drug Court Partnership Executive Steering
Committee and approved by the department.
(2) The amount of funds identified in the county's most recent
local plan, as of May 20, 2003, as supporting drug courts described
in subparagraph (A) of paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section
11970.2 shall be used exclusively to support drug courts that accept
only defendants who have been convicted of felonies and placed on
formal probation, conditioned on their participation in the drug
court program or for preplea drug courts that accept only felons who
may not be eligible for another treatment program, such as a program
pursuant to Section 1210.1 of the Penal Code, if they fail to
complete drug court. Both preplea and postplea courts shall operate
in a manner that is consistent with guidelines developed by the Drug
Court Partnership Executive Steering Committee and approved by the
department.
(c) The department shall transfer funds on a reimbursement basis
to counties whose local plans are approved. No reimbursement shall be
made unless and until the drug court is in full and complete
compliance with all the data reporting requirements of the department
and the Judicial Council.
(d) If funds are withheld for failure to comply with the
requirements of this article for a period of more than six months,
that county's funding shall be terminated and the remaining funds
shall be redistributed to the remaining participating counties for
the purpose of increasing the number of defendants participating in
each drug court program. Redistributed funds may only be used to fund
drug courts serving adult offenders subject to the requirements of
subdivision (b).
(e) A county may choose to decline funding to support drug courts
serving adult offenders pursuant to subparagraph (A) of paragraph (2)
of subdivision (a) of Section 11970.2, and may receive funding only
for drug courts described in subparagraphs (B), (C), (D), and (E) of
paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section 11970.2, in the amount
identified in the county's most recent local plan, as of May 20,
2003, as supporting those drug courts. Any funds not allocated as a
result of a county selecting the option under this subdivision shall
be reallocated to counties willing to receive and expend the funds
under the conditions specified in subdivision (a).