SECTIONS 5680-5688.6 - California Statutes

WELFARE AND INSTITUTIONS CODE

SECTION 5680-5688.6

5680. In order to assist homeless mentally disabled persons to
secure, stabilize, and maintain safe and adequate living arrangements
in the community, the Legislature hereby establishes the Community
Support System for Homeless Mentally Disabled.

5681. (a) It is the intent of the Legislature that when funds are
made available, counties should assure the delivery of long-range
services and community support assistance to homeless mentally
disabled persons and those at risk of becoming homeless.
(b) It is further the intent of the Legislature that specific
outreach and service priority be given under this chapter to homeless
mentally disabled persons not served by any local or state programs
as of September 30, 1985.

5682. The goal of the community support system is to assure that
needed community services are provided to homeless mentally disabled
persons and those at risk of becoming homeless to stabilize,
maintain, and enhance their living in the community. All services of
the community support system are offered to these persons on a
voluntary basis. The active participation of the clients being
provided services is encouraged at all times. Programs are designed
to be accessible to the clients intended to be served. No individual
service offered should be contingent upon the acceptance of any other
community support service or mental health treatment.

5683. The function of the community support system is to conduct
active outreach to homeless mentally disabled persons, to secure and
maintain income, housing, food, and clothing for clients, and to
develop social skills and prevocational and vocational skills on a
voluntary basis. Each community support system is based upon the
range of services as may be necessary to meet a client's needs:
(a) Personal assistance to secure and maintain housing, food,
clothing, income, and health benefits.
(b) Accessing social and vocational skill development activities
when they are available, case management, and crisis intervention,
with a focus on finding alternatives to acute inpatient hospital
care, services when they are needed.

5683.5. Community support systems may provide temporary funds to
their homeless clients for their personal incidental living needs
while the clients are in residential placement. Up to seventy-five
dollars ($75) may be made available monthly to each client for this
purpose. Local mental health programs shall, to the extent possible,
recoup payments from clients after they become eligible for a
governmental assistance program, including, but not limited to,
general relief or SSI/SSP funds or otherwise become financially able
to repay the county community support system.

5685. Counties may provide specific services, contract with a
public or private agency, or a combination of both. Nothing contained
in this article shall prevent a county from developing a consortium
model which involves a number of providers performing specific
functions. If a county decides to contract out a portion or all of
the community support program functions, priority shall be given to
providers, public or private, that have demonstrated an ability and
desire to the county to work with the population intended to be
served and which possess the management skills needed to perform the
functions they propose to perform.

5685.5. (a) A county may contract with the local office of the
public guardian to receive and manage income and benefits for
mentally ill persons, regardless of whether the persons are under
conservatorship. The case management services described in this
section shall be provided only with the consent of the client. The
public guardian, under the contracts, may perform functions intended
to meet the goals of the community support system listed in Section
5683, and may also include, but not be limited to, all of the
following case management services:
(1) Outreach and casefinding to locate mentally ill persons in
need of services.
(2) Establishing liaison with charitable organizations which serve
mentally ill persons.
(3) Assistance in applying for and obtaining public assistance
benefits for which they are eligible.
(b) Any office of the public guardian contracting with the county
to provide these management services shall maintain a record of those
individuals being assisted, including information about whether the
individual is under conservatorship, the type of service assistance
provided by the office of the public guardian, and any agencies with
which the office of the public guardian is coordinating efforts.

5686. Whenever a county believes that a mentally disabled person
may be unable to manage his or her SSI/SSP funds, the county mental
health program shall advise the person that he or she may have a
trusted family member, relative or friend designated as their
representative payee under the SSI/SSP program.

5686.5. In order to make the most efficient use of the public funds
appropriated for this purpose, counties are encouraged to maximize
the use of existing public and private community resources. If
voluntarily requested by the client, the community support agency
shall help the client learn to manage his or her own money. Any
SSI/SSP money, or other personal funds, if managed by the program or
by the local office of the public guardian, shall, at all times, be
considered as the client's money. Nothing in this section, however,
shall prevent a client from purchasing residential care with SSI/SSP
funds.

5688.6. Any and all funds appropriated for the homeless mentally
disabled which have been determined to be unexpended and unencumbered
two years after the date the funds were appropriated shall be
transferred to the Department of Housing and Community Development.
The amount of transfer shall be determined after the State Department
of Mental Health settles county cost reports for the fiscal year the
funds were appropriated. The funds transferred to the Department of
Housing and Community Development shall be administered in accordance
with that department's Special Users Housing Rehabilitation or
Emergency Shelter programs to provide low-income transitional and
long-term housing for homeless mentally disabled persons. Special
priority shall be given to project proposals for homeless mentally
disabled persons in the same county from which the funds for the
support of the community support system were originally allocated.