(a) Each provider shall offer services, in accordance with Section 5806 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, to obtain and maintain health and housing stability while participants are on parole, to enable the parolee to comply with the terms of parole, and to augment mental health treatment provided to other parolees. The services shall be offered to participants in their home, or be made as easily accessible to participants as possible and shall include, but are not limited to, all of the following:

(1) Case management services.

(2) Parole discharge planning.

(3) Housing location services, and, if needed, move-in cost assistance.

(4) Rental subsidies.

(5) Linkage to other services, such as vocational, educational, and employment services, as needed.

(6) Benefit entitlement application and appeal assistance.

(7) Transportation assistance to obtain services and health care needed.

(8) Assistance obtaining appropriate identification.

(b) For participants identified prior to release from state prison, upon the provider’s receipt of referral and, in collaboration with the parole agent and, if appropriate, staff, the intake coordinator or case manager of the provider shall, when possible:

(1) Receive all prerelease assessments and discharge plans.

(2) Draft a plan for the participant’s transition into housing that serves the participant’s needs and is affordable, such as permanent supportive housing, or a transitional housing program that includes support services and demonstrates a clear transition pathway to permanent housing.

(3) Engage the participant to actively participate in services upon release.

(4) Assist in obtaining identification for the participant, if necessary.

(5) Assist in applying for any benefits for which the participant is eligible.

(c) (1) To facilitate the transition of participants identified prior to release into the community and participants identified during parole into supportive housing, each provider shall, on an ongoing basis, not less than quarterly, assess each participant’s needs and include in each participant’s assessment a plan to foster independence and a residence in permanent housing once parole is complete.

(2) Upon referral to the provider, the provider shall work to transition participants from the department’s rental assistance to other mainstream rental assistance benefits if those benefits are necessary to enable the participant to remain in stable housing, and shall prioritize transitioning participants to these benefits in a manner that allows participants to remain housed, when possible, without moving. Mainstream rental assistance benefits may include, but are not limited to, federal Housing Choice Voucher assistance, Department of Housing and Urban Development-Veterans Affairs Supportive Housing vouchers, or other rental assistance programs.

(3) The participant’s parole discharge plan and the assessments shall consider the need for and prioritize linkage to county mental health services and housing opportunities that are supported by the Mental Health Services Act, the Mental Health Services Act Housing Program, or other funding sources that finance permanent supportive housing for persons with mental illness, so that the participant may continue to achieve all recovery goals of the program and remain permanently housed once the term of parole ends.

(Added by Stats. 2012, Ch. 41, Sec. 70. (SB 1021) Effective June 27, 2012.)