Realignment of Behavioral Health

(October 2011)-On October 1, 2011, the State of California began implementation of Assembly Bill (AB) 109. As a result, after that date, most non-serious, non-violent felons released from State prison will be released to County supervision, rather than the supervision of State Parole. Every County has a Community Corrections Partnership (CCP) committee that is responsible for how that County is going to handle this new responsibility.

The CCP is chaired by the Chief Probation Officer of that County, and has representation from both law enforcement and the County Health and Human Services Agency. Counties are funded on a per-offender basis, and every County is now finalizing plans to put out RFPs for services, hire new Probation Officers, and meet other needs created by the shift in responsibilities. The funding available is reflective of our economic recession and will not be enough to do everything necessary. At MHS, we are monitoring every County in which we provide services to see how they are going to handle this new policy.

The attached research findings from the Criminal Justice Research Division of SANDAG provide information on the basics of Public Safety realignment- Download