(a) The board shall administer a competitive grant program to carry out the purposes of this article that focuses on community-based solutions for reducing recidivism. The grant program shall, at minimum, do all of the following:

(1) Restrict eligibility to proposals designed to serve people who have been arrested, charged with, or convicted of a criminal offense and have a history of mental health or substance use disorders.

(2) Restrict eligibility to proposals that offer mental health services, substance use disorder treatment services, misdemeanor diversion programs, or some combination thereof.

(3) Restrict eligibility to proposals that have a public agency as the lead applicant.

(b) The board shall form an executive steering committee that includes, but is not limited to, a balanced and diverse membership from relevant state and local government entities, community-based treatment and service providers, and the formerly incarcerated community. The committee shall have expertise in homelessness and housing, behavioral health and substance abuse treatment, and effective rehabilitative treatment for adults and juveniles. The committee shall make recommendations regarding the design, efficacy, and viability of proposals, and make recommendations on guidelines for the submission of proposals, including threshold or scoring criteria, or both, that do all of the following:

(1) Prioritize proposals that advance principles of restorative justice while demonstrating a capacity to reduce recidivism.

(2) Prioritize proposals that leverage other federal, state, and local funds or other social investments, such as the following sources of funding:

(A) The Drug Medi-Cal Treatment Program (22 Cal. Code Regs. 51341.1, 51490.1, and 51516.1).

(B) The Mental Health Services Act, enacted by Proposition 63 at the November 2, 2004, general election, as amended.

(C) Funds provided for in connection with the implementation of Chapter 15 of the Statutes of 2011.

(D) The Community Corrections Performance Incentives Act (Stats. 2009, Ch. 608; Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 1228) of Title 8 of Part 2).

(E) The tax credits established pursuant to Sections 12209, 17053.57, and 23657 of the Revenue and Taxation Code.

(F) The federal Department of Housing and Urban Development funds, such as the Emergency Solutions Grant program (42 U.S.C. Sec. 11371 et seq.).

(G) The federal Department of Veterans Affairs Supportive Services for Veteran Families program (38 U.S.C. Sec. 2044).

(H) Social Innovation Funds established by the Corporation for National and Community Service pursuant to Section 12653k of Title 42 of the United States Code.

(I) The Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant Program (42 U.S.C. Sec. 3750 et seq.).

(3) Prioritize proposals that provide for all of the following:

(A) Mental health services, substance use disorder treatment services, misdemeanor diversion programs, or some combination thereof.

(B) Housing-related assistance that utilizes evidence-based models, including, but not limited to, those recommended by the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development. Housing-related assistance may include, but is not limited to, the following:

(i) Financial assistance, including security deposits, utility payments, moving-cost assistance, and up to 24 months of rental assistance.

(ii) Housing stabilization assistance, including case management, relocation assistance, outreach and engagement, landlord recruitment, housing navigation and placement, and credit repair.

(C) Other community-based supportive services, such as job skills training, case management, and civil legal services.

(4) Prioritize proposals that leverage existing contracts, partnerships, memoranda of understanding, or other formal relationships to provide one or more of the services prioritized in paragraph (3).

(5) Prioritize proposals put forth by a public agency in partnership with a philanthropic or nonprofit organization.

(6) Prioritize proposals that promote interagency and regional collaborations.

(7) Consider ways to promote services for people with offenses identical or similar to those addressed by the Safe Neighborhoods and Schools Act of 2014, without precluding assistance to a person with other offenses in his or her criminal history.

(8)  Consider geographic diversity.

(9) Consider appropriate limits for administrative costs and overhead.

(10) Consider proposals that provide services to juveniles.

(11) Permit proposals to expand the capacity of an existing program and prohibit proposals from using the fund to supplant funding for an existing program.

(Added by Stats. 2015, Ch. 438, Sec. 4. (AB 1056) Effective January 1, 2016.)