In abstract
A key a part of California’s Proposition 36 promised to direct folks convicted of sure drug crimes to remedy. Some counties are straining to make that occur with out new funding.
It’s been three months since California voters overwhelmingly permitted Proposition 36a brand new regulation that pledged to offer “mass treatment” for these dealing with sure drug costs. However for the reason that regulation took impact on Dec. 18, some counties are scrambling to satisfy that promise.
Now, prosecutors have the power to cost folks convicted of assorted third-time drug offenses with a so-called treatment-mandated felonywhich might direct them to substance use dysfunction or psychological well being remedy in lieu of as much as three years in jail or jail.
However as some counties wrestle to implement the mandate with out new funding or, in response to folks concerned in implementing the regulation, enough assets, increasingly more persons are being charged and not using a clear path to the remedy that the regulation was supposed to supply.
CalMatters spoke with judges, district attorneys, public defenders and behavioral well being specialists in counties of assorted sizes which have began implementing the brand new regulation. As of Feb. 4, almost 30 folks have been charged with the treatment-mandated felony in Yolo County. In Stanislaus County, roughly 140 folks have been charged with the brand new felony as of Feb. 10. And in Orange County, that quantity has handed 500 as of Feb. 7.
At an early look, CalMatters discovered of a handful of people that have been positioned in remedy for the reason that regulation took impact. That quantity may improve within the weeks forward as folks transfer by their court docket course of and the regulation is additional applied. An individual can settle for remedy at any level between their arraignment and jury trial.
Whereas enthusiasm for the brand new regulation runs excessive from prosecutors and regulation enforcement, the equipment of presidency hasn’t fairly caught up. The textual content of the measure didn’t spell out the main points of how courts would implement Prop. 36, forcing court docket directors, judges, district attorneys, behavioral well being specialists, probation officers and public defenders to rapidly get up new processes as many individuals are charged and incarcerated.
Remedy is “the greatest obstacle,” stated Santa Clara County Superior Court docket Choose, Stephen Manley, who based the county’s psychological well being remedy court docket and co-founded its drug court docket.
“We simply do not have the treatment in this state,” he stated. “When you can’t place people in treatment, what is the alternative?”
The measure got here with no funding. That’s one of many the explanation why Gov. Gavin Newsom opposed the initiative.
“It’s about mass incarceration, not mass treatment,” Newsom stated at a press convention in September. “What an actual insult it is to say it’s about mass treatment when there’s not a dollar attached to it.”
The Legislative Analyst’s Workplace estimated the measure would value tens to tons of of hundreds of thousands of {dollars} a yr in elevated felony justice prices. Republican state lawmakers who backed Prop. 36 wrote a letter to Newsom in December urging him to commit extra funding.
“The success of Proposition 36’s treatment-focused approach depends heavily on the availability of well-funded mental health and substance abuse services, which are critical for breaking cycles of addiction and reducing recidivism,” the GOP legislators wrote.
And Sen. Tom Umberg, a Democrat from Santa Ana, launched laws to assist facilitate the implementation of Prop. 36.
“Every Californian should be treated equally under the law,” stated Umberg. “It is my intent to make sure we fulfill the mandate of Prop. 36.”
What’s a treatment-mandated felony?
An arrest is made. A choose opinions the costs at an preliminary listening to. However then what?
Underneath a treatment-mandated felony, somebody who expresses curiosity in remedy will likely be assigned a “drug addiction expert” who will assess them and resolve what sort of remedy they want. That remedy can contain psychological well being remedy, job coaching, and “any other conditions related to treatment or a successful outcome for the defendant that the court finds appropriate,” the measure stated.
In the event that they settle for, they might enter a responsible or no contest plea and start remedy. In the event that they don’t conform to it, they might go to jail or jail if convicted. Those that end remedy can have their costs dismissed.
Yolo County District Lawyer Jeff Reisig, a distinguished supporter of Prop. 36, stated it’s OK that counties are taking totally different approaches to finishing up the regulation.
“Everybody’s going to do it a little bit differently,” he stated. “But it’s moving along. There are no surprises right now.”
Evaluations underneath Prop. 36
Whereas the statute requires a drug habit professional to carry out evaluations, it stays an “open question” in lots of counties as to who will tackle that position, stated Sacramento Superior Court docket Choose Lawrence Brown, who’s the chairperson of the Collaborative Justice Courts Advisory Committee inside the state court docket system’s policymaking physique, the Judicial Council.
“In our county, (the behavioral health department) receives a high volume of requests for drug treatment and mental treatment pre-Prop. 36 so it’s adding onto their already considerable workload without any specific funding,” he stated.
Not one of the three individuals who have requested remedy evaluations in Yolo County, a neighborhood of about 220,000 folks close to Sacramento, has acquired one as of Feb. 5. In accordance with the county’s director of Well being & Human Companies Company, Nolan Sullivan, that’s as a result of no company has the assets. The county is engaged on a brief plan.
“They created an expectation for this really robust position to do work that, frankly, would be great, but it doesn’t exist today,” Sullivan stated. “That is the biggest implementation gap we have in Yolo today.”
How will treatment-mandated felonies be processed?
Most of California’s 58 counties have grownup drug courtswhich range from court docket to court docket however typically present remedy to offenders scuffling with substance use problems, typically alongside diminished costs. However 10 counties lack such courts, in response to a latest tally by state officers, and folks within the California justice system say that, even when the courts exist, remedy choices are missing.
“The best drug court in the world can’t do a thing without treatment in place,” stated Manley.
Some counties are planning to fold treatment-mandated felony instances into current collaborative justice applications, reminiscent of drug courts. Others plan to create a standalone court docket.
Orange County, for instance, has already arrange its personal Prop. 36 court docket. For now, its behavioral well being care company has used current assets and leveraged opioid settlement cash to assist pay for workers. Orange County Well being Care Company Director Veronica Kelley stated they know learn how to stretch a greenback however the long-term plan stays a piece in progress.
“There are unintended consequences with lots of our legislation and our propositions. I don’t want the unintended consequence to be that I have to cut another needed program to support this,” stated Kelley.
As of Jan. 30, the Orange County Well being Care Company has acquired 111 referrals for the brand new felony, in response to Kelley. Seven folks accepted remedy, three of whom have since absconded. Warrants have been issued for his or her arrests.
“You have to be ready and treatment is hard,” she stated. “Addiction is a complicated disease.”
In comparison with others, her neighborhood has an abundance of remedy choices for individuals who need it. That’s not at all times the case in smaller counties.
“If we had a rush of dozens of folks being referred to us through this process, frankly, I don’t know how we would handle that load today,” Sullivan of Yolo County stated. “If folks are asking for treatment and there’s none available for a variety of reasons, what ownership do they have? I think it could be a pretty big barrier.”
In Stanislaus County, a neighborhood of about half one million folks within the northern San Joaquin Valley, District Lawyer Jeff Laugero desires to funnel folks by its drug court docket.
“We want the treatment to be successful so that’s why we’re working with all of our justice partners to try and figure out what the best practices are and how it’s going to work,” he stated. “I absolutely believe there is sufficient treatment, at least currently.”
However Stanislaus County Chief Deputy Public Defender Jennifer Jennison stated the county had a serious scarcity of remedy even earlier than voters permitted Prop. 36. In her view, the district lawyer is incorrect to cost folks with treatment-mandated felonies as a result of typically that remedy merely isn’t obtainable.
“It’s reckless,” she stated. “And people in need of treatment are sitting in jail without any end in sight, making their situation much worse.”
Cayla Mihalovich is a California Native Information fellow.
