Stanislaus penalized $4 million for high rate of defendants declared incompetent
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- Stanislaus County was fined $3.98 million for exceeding the state's IST cap.
- The county accepted $39.5 million in state grants to expand mental health diversion.
- A new treatment model will offer housing, care and services for felony IST defendants.
Stanislaus County faces $3.98 million in state penalties after too many felony defendants were determined to be mentally incompetent to stand trial and were referred to state hospitals for treatment.
The financial sanctions are under Senate Bill 184, a 2022 law placing expectations on counties to reduce the incompetetent-to-stand-trial (IST) determinations that are overwhelming state hospitals.
Courts finding that felony defendants don’t have the mental capacity to understand the charges against them, or assist with their defense, refer those individuals to state hospitals for mental health treatment to restore competency. More than 90% of state hospital admissions are referals from criminal courts.
The five state hospitals don’t have the capacity for the increasing number of referrals, so waiting lists grow longer and an increasing number of incompetent defendants wait in county jail for treatment.
The state has set a cap in every county on the number of defendants determined to be IST each year and penalizes counties that exceed the cap.
Stanislaus County’s IST rates are among the highest in California, the state says. SB 184 set a baseline of 89 referrals in 2022, and the county’s 148 IST referrals in 2024 were 66% over the growth cap. Only San Joaquin (77%), Imperial (72%) and San Mateo (70%) had larger rates over their caps..
The state law was not intended to simply penalize counties that exceed their IST caps. The penalties paid by counties are placed in a State Mental Health Diversion fund to support local diversion programs, so not as many defendants with serious mental disorders are referred to state hospitals.
Penalty payments are returned to counties that create diversion programs approved by the Department of State Hospitals (DSH). Recognizing the need to deal with the IST problem, Stanislaus applied for millions of dollars in state grant funds last year to bolster diversion programs and provide community-based treatment in residential settings.
Tuesday, county supervisors approved the payment of $3.98 million in penalties for exceding the cap in the 2023-24 budget year. But the board also formally accepted $39.5 million in state grants for diversion programs, housing to support those programs and local treatment options.
Criminal defendants struggling with mental illness may be placed in a diversion program before an IST determination is made in Superior Court, except for those charged with murder, voluntary manslaughter, rape or sexual assault.
In the next six months, a county working group including the District Attorney’s, Public Defender’s and Sheriff’s offices and Behavioral Health and Recovery Services will further develop diversion programs and community-based treatment for defendants who qualify.
BHRS Director Ruben Imperial told supervisors a collaborative court behavioral health services team was created after the county was hit with an initial $450,000 penalty in 2023. When there’s a first encounter in jail and a mental illness is identified, the team tries to get the person into mental health care before he or she is found incompetent to stand trial.
The state has returned the $450,00 penalty to the county.
To pay the penalty for 2023-24, the county will use $1.987 million in community corrections realignment funds and $1.987 million in BHRS fund balance. The county projects a penalty of $2.6 million for 2024-25 due to a slight decrease in IST referrals.
The state funding recently awarded to Stanislaus County includes $11.2 million for an agreement with a DSH contractor, Advocates for Human Potential, to develop housing with up to 120 beds for individuals in local diversion programs. The program will have an intensive treatment model with frequent clinical contacts, access to psychiatric services and wrap-around services for up to 18 months.
The infrastructure grant can pay for acquisition of property, expansion or remodeling of an existing facility, construction of a new facility and one-time purchases of furniture and minor improvements for patients and staff.
Another state grant of $28.2 million over five years will provide services for 30 new felony diversion clients a year.
Defendants are placed in residential facilities?
Board Chairman Buck Condit asked about placing defendants charged with felonies in residential settings for care and mental health treatment.
District Attorney Jeff Laugero said the working group still is developing a process for residential placements. The county may not need a dedicated facility, as there are facilities in other counties or elsewhere in the state where people can be placed, he said.
Prosecutors see a pattern of crime related to mental disorders, including fights with family members, arson, vandalism and stolen cars, Laugero said. Those accused of serious violent offenses won’t qualify for diversion.
State law allows felony defendants to receive mental health treatment in the community, instead of admission to a state hospital, and counties have been invited to apply for a piece of almost $470 million in funding.
The county must contract with DSH to operate a program including intensive case management, mental health treatment, substance use treatment, medication management, group sessions, peer support and criminal justice coordination.
Imperial said when the state approves the county’s plan for diversion programs and community-based treatment, the $3.98 million reimbursement will help fund and fully staff the collaborative court program that already exists.
The programs implemented through the state grants are expected to significantly reduce the number of IST determinations in this county. In addition, the state awards credits reducing penalties for counties that operate diversion programs.
Supervisor Channce Condit said he was optimistic about seeing results. “We have the right folks in place to navigate us through this storm,” he said.
