Juvenile Mental Health

My bill, AB 2019, cleared the Senate Public Safety Committee on Tuesday on a vote of 6-0. It's now going to the Senate Appropriations Committee.

As I've discussed before, the minors who end up in the juvenile delinquency system very often have previously undiagnosed mental illnesses. And many of them get through that system, and on to the adult criminal justice system, with undiagnosed mental illnesses.

AB 2019 would establish an alternative dispositional track that would allow these minors to get treatment, rather than incarceration.

Of course, it my preference that these minors get treatment before they hit bottom and end up in the juvenile delinquency system, and that's why I'm a proponent of this initiative. I want all children to have access to services that they need so that they can avoid failing.

By the way, my co-proponent for this initiative, Rusty Selix, had booked Barry Melton, formerly of Country Joe and the Fish, and Barry's band for Rusty's September 18 house party that Rusty hopes to make the biggest in the state. Plan your party, and let's hook up by Internet that evening to hear Barry. I'm looking forward to it. Especially after this week. Good news is that we hope to have a state budget soon.