5680-5688.6
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.