2023 California Code › Penal Code - PEN › PART 2 - OF CRIMINAL PROCEDURE › TITLE 8 - OF JUDGMENT AND EXECUTION › CHAPTER 1 - The Judgment › Section 1203.44.

1203.44. (a) The Counties of Sacramento and Yolo may offer a voluntary secured residential treatment pilot program, known as “Hope California,” consistent with this section for individuals suffering from substance use disorders (SUDs) who have been convicted of drug-motivated felony crimes that qualify pursuant to the criteria and conditions described in subdivisions (b) and (c). If offered, the pilot programs shall align with the resolutions adopted by the counties in recognition of the goal of ensuring that people with behavioral health conditions receive treatment out of custody wherever possible. The counties may offer the pilot program to eligible individuals if the program meets all of the following conditions:
(1) The program facility is licensed by the State Department of Health Care Services as an alcoholism or drug abuse recovery or treatment facility pursuant to Chapter 7.5 (commencing with Section 11834.01) of Part 2 of Division 10.5 of the Health and Safety Code.
(2) (A) The program facility is a clinical setting managed and staffed by the county’s health and human services agency (HHSA) with oversight provided by the county’s probation department.
(B) The program facility shall not be a jail, prison, or other correctional setting.
(C) The program facility shall be secured but shall not include a lockdown setting.
(3) The individual, upon a judge pronouncing a sentence to be served in a county jail or state prison, shall choose and consent to participate in the voluntary program in lieu of incarceration.
(4) The program is limited to one facility site per county.
(5) The State Department of Health Care Services monitors the program facility to ensure the health, safety, and well-being of program participants.
(6) The State Department of Health Care Services has authority to access the program facility to investigate complaints by program participants and to ensure the facility complies with applicable statutes and regulations.
(7) The program facility ensures that participants have visitation rights, including through the use of a telephone.
(8) The county develops and staffs the program in partnership with relevant community-based organizations and drug treatment service providers to provide support services, including, but not limited to, employment skill assessments, money management, technology education, tutoring, career planning, developing resumes and cover letters, and searching and applying for employment.
(9) HHSA ensures that a risk, needs, and biopsychosocial assessment, utilizing the Multidimensional Assessment of the American Society of Addiction Medicine (ASAM), as part of the ASAM Criteria, be performed for each individual identified as a candidate for the program.
(10) The participant’s treatment, in terms of length and intensity, within the program is based on the findings of the risk, needs, and biopsychosocial assessment and the recommendations of treatment providers that may include an addiction medicine physician.
(11) The program adopts the Treatment Criteria of ASAM. The program may take into consideration evolving best practices in the SUD treatment community.
(12) The program has a comprehensive written curriculum that informs the operations of the program and outlines the treatment and intervention modalities.
(13) The program provides an individualized, medically assisted treatment plan for each resident, including, but not limited to, medically assisted treatment options and counseling based on the recommendations of a substance use disorder specialist, which may include a medical doctor or doctor of osteopathy specializing in addiction medicine.
(14) A judge determines the length of the treatment program after being informed by, and based on, the risk, needs, and biopsychosocial assessment and recommendations of treatment providers. After leaving the secured residential treatment facility, the participant continues outpatient treatment for a period of time and may also be referred to a “step-down” residential treatment facility, subject to the time limit described in paragraph (2) of subdivision (c).
(15) A judge shall also determine that the program will be carried out in lieu of a jail or prison sentence after making a finding that the defendant’s decision to choose the alternative treatment program is knowing, intelligent, and voluntary.
(16) The program provides, for each participant successfully leaving the program, a comprehensive continuum of care plan that includes recommendations for outpatient care, counseling, housing recommendations, and other vital components of successful recovery.
(17) To the extent permitted under federal and state law, treatment provided to a participant during the program is reimbursable under the Medi-Cal program, if the participant is a Medi-Cal beneficiary and the treatment is a covered benefit under the Medi-Cal program. If treatment services provided to a participant during the program are not reimbursable under the Medi-Cal program or through the participant’s personal health care coverage, funds allocated to the state from the 2021 Multistate Opioid Settlement Agreement, subject to an appropriation by the Legislature, may be used to reimburse those treatment services to the extent consistent with the terms of the Settlement Agreement and the Final Judgment (People v. McKinsey & Co. (Alameda County Superior Court, No. RG21087649, Feb. 4, 2021)).
(18) (A) An outcomes assessment of the secured residential treatment pilot program is completed by an independent evaluator and submitted to the Assembly Committee on Health, the Assembly Committee on Public Safety, the Senate Committee on Health, the Senate Committee on Public Safety, and the Legislature by October 1, 2028.
(B) The outcomes assessment shall include pilot program data, including overall data and data by county, and shall include, but not be limited to, all of the following:
(i) A summary of the pertinent data collected under paragraphs (19) and (20) over the course of the pilot program.
(ii) The clinical efficacy of the secured residential treatment pilot program based on the data collected under paragraphs (19) and (20).
(iii) The effects of the secured residential treatment pilot program on participant recidivism and sustainable recovery.
(iv) A recommendation for the continuation and expansion of the secured residential treatment pilot project model beyond the pilot program.
(C) The outcomes assessment shall not be performed or managed by the State Department of Health Care Services but may be performed by a postsecondary institution.
(D) The independent evaluator may be provided with criminal offender record information, if necessary for the completion of the outcomes assessment, as provided in Section 13202.
(19) The county collects and monitors all of the following data for participants in the program:
(A) The participant’s demographic information, including age, gender, race, ethnicity, marital status, familial status, and employment status.
(B) The participant’s criminal history.
(C) The participant’s risk level, as determined by the risk, needs, and biopsychosocial assessment.
(D) The treatment provided to the participant during the program, and if the participant completed that treatment.
(E) The participant’s outcome at the time of program completion, six months after completion, and one year after completion, including subsequent arrests and convictions.
(20) The county reports all of the following information annually to the State Department of Health Care Services and, in compliance with Section 9795 of the Government Code, to the Legislature, excluding any personally identifiable information of participants:
(A) The risk, needs, and biopsychosocial assessment tool used for the program.
(B) The curriculum used by each program.
(C) The number of participants with a program length other than one year and the alternative program lengths used.
(D) Individual data on the number of participants participating in the program.
(E) Individual data for the items described in paragraph (19).
(F) A one- and three-year evaluation of the number of subsequent arrests and convictions of the participants.
(b) (1) Eligible drug-motivated crimes shall include any felony crime other than the following:
(A) Sex crimes listed in subdivision (c) of Section 290.
(B) A “serious felony” as defined in subdivision (c) of Section 1192.7 or in Section 1192.8.
(C) A “violent felony” as defined in subdivision (c) of Section 667.5.
(D) “Domestic violence” as defined in the Domestic Violence Prevention Act (Division 10 (commencing with Section 6200) of the Family Code).
(E) Driving under the influence in violation of Section 191.5 of this code or Section 23152, 23153, 23550, or 23550.5 of the Vehicle Code.
(2) Notwithstanding paragraph (1), a “nonviolent drug possession offense” specified in subdivision (a) of Section 1210 may not be diverted pursuant to this program.
(c) (1) At the time of sentencing or pronouncement of judgment in which sentencing is imposed, the judge shall offer the defendant voluntary participation in the pilot program, as an alternative to a jail or prison sentence that the judge would otherwise impose, consistent with the other provisions of this section and if all of the following conditions are met:
(A) The defendant’s crime was caused in whole or in part by the defendant’s SUD.
(B) The defendant’s crime meets the criteria described in subdivision (b).
(C) The judge makes their determination based on the recommendations of the treatment providers who conducted the assessment, on a finding by HHSA that the defendant’s participation in the program would be appropriate, and on the report described in subdivision (d).
(2) The amount of time in the secured residential treatment facility shall be determined by the recommendations of the treatment providers who conducted the assessment. The amount of time, combined with any outpatient treatment or “step-down” residential treatment pursuant to the program, shall not exceed the term of imprisonment to which the defendant would otherwise be sentenced, not including any additional term of imprisonment for enhancements, for the drug-motivated crime. The court shall not place the defendant on probation for the underlying offense. The defendant shall be eligible to receive credits pursuant to Section 4019.
(3) During the period that an individual is participating in the pilot program, the individual shall be on supervision with the probation department.
(d) To assist the court in making the determination as to whether to offer the defendant placement in the secured residential treatment program pursuant to subdivision (c), a report shall be prepared with input from any of the interested parties, including the district attorney, the attorney for the participant, the probation department, HHSA, and any contracted drug treatment program provider.
(e) If, at any time during the individual’s participation in the program, it is determined by the treatment providers or program administrators that continued participation in the program would not be in the best interests of the individual, other participants, or the program itself, the treatment providers or program administrators may recommend to the court that the individual’s participation be terminated and that the individual be transferred out of the secured residential treatment program.
(f) If the court, based on the recommendations of the treatment providers or program administrators, determines that the participant should be transferred out of the secured residential treatment phase of the program prior to the end of the original order, the court shall make that subsequent order, and the participant shall complete the remainder of the original sentence imposed prior to their consent to enter the program.
(g) If, at any time during the individual’s participation in the program, the individual determines that they no longer wish to participate in the program, the individual may make a request to the court for termination of their participation and be transferred out of the secured residential treatment program to complete the remainder of their originally imposed sentence after accounting for any credits to which the individual is entitled pursuant to Section 4019.
(h) If the treatment providers make a recommendation to the court that the participant should be released prior to the end of the original order based on the treatment providers’ assessment that the participant no longer needs to be in the secured residential treatment program, the court shall make that subsequent order, and paragraph (16) of subdivision (a) shall apply.
(i) If the participant successfully completes the court-ordered drug treatment pursuant to this program, the conviction shall be set aside, and the court shall dismiss the accusation or information against the participant. The court shall also have discretion to set aside the conviction and to dismiss the accusation or information of any previous drug possession or drug use crimes on the participant’s record, including those offenses listed in Sections 11350, 11364, 11377, and 11550 of the Health and Safety Code. A participant’s successful completion of treatment shall be defined and determined by the treatment providers and not by the court, district attorney’s office, or probation department and does not require the participant to complete the duration of the treatment originally ordered by the court.
(j) The court shall ensure that the rights of any victim pursuant to Section 28 of Article I of the California Constitution (Marsy’s Law) are honored before setting aside the conviction and dismissing the accusation or information.
(k) This section shall remain in effect only until July 1, 2029, and as of that date is repealed unless a later enacted statute that is enacted before July 1, 2029, deletes or extends that date.
(Added by Stats. 2023, Ch. 685, Sec. 2. (AB 1360) Effective January 1, 2024. Repealed as of July 1, 2029, by its own provisions.)