An act to add and repeal Section 2693 of the Penal Code, relating to prisons.
AB 2259 would require the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation to create a three-year pilot program at two state prisons, including one facility housing men and one housing women, to provide mental health therapy to certain incarcerated people who are within 90 days of release or parole eligibility. The therapy could be delivered either through confidential virtual services, such as telehealth or telepsychiatry, or by contracted licensed or registered mental health providers offering in-person counseling. The bill specifies that services should be short-term and evidence-based, with an emphasis on coping skills, reentry planning, and stabilization, such as brief cognitive behavioral therapy.
The pilot is limited to incarcerated people who are not already in higher levels of mental health care, such as the Correctional Clinical Case Management System, Enhanced Outpatient Program, or acute psychiatric care. It also requires the department, in coordination with the Department of Health Care Services, to help eligible participants learn about Medi-Cal benefits before release and to provide information about community-based treatment programs upon release. The bill would require annual reporting to the Legislature from March 1, 2028, through March 1, 2031, on program capacity, enrollment, outcomes, and postrelease linkage to care, and the pilot would sunset in 2031 and be repealed in 2032.
AB 2259 would add Penal Code Section 2693 and temporarily expand CDCR’s responsibilities by mandating a targeted mental health therapy pilot for a defined group of incarcerated people nearing release. It would also establish confidentiality protections for therapy communications under HIPAA, designate California Correctional Health Care Services as custodian of treatment records, and require coordination with the Department of Health Care Services on Medi-Cal enrollment and continuity of care. The bill would affect CDCR operations, prison health care administration, and reentry planning, while creating a limited, time-bound framework for evaluating whether pre-release therapy improves outcomes and postrelease treatment connections.
The available context suggests generally favorable sentiment toward the bill’s goals. The measure received a unanimous 8-0 do pass vote in committee and was advanced to Appropriations, indicating bipartisan or at least broad committee support for expanding mental health services and reentry-focused care in prisons. The bill’s findings emphasize rehabilitation, safety, and continuity of care, and there is no recorded committee transcript showing opposition in the provided materials.
The main policy questions appear to be practical rather than ideological: which incarcerated people should be eligible, how the pilot will be funded, and whether CDCR and health care partners can implement confidential therapy services in a prison setting. The bill excludes people already in intensive mental health classifications, which may limit access and could be a point of concern for advocates seeking broader coverage. Potential issues also include the use of Medi-Cal or other funding sources, the administrative burden of reporting and coordination, and whether the pilot’s narrow two-facility design will generate enough data to assess effectiveness statewide.