Report 2013-103 Recommendation 12 Responses

Report 2013-103: Armed Persons With Mental Illness: Insufficient Outreach From the Department of Justice and Poor Reporting From Superior Courts Limit the Identification of Armed Persons With Mental Illness (Release Date: October 2013)

Recommendation #12 To: Superior Court of California, County of Los Angeles

Los Angeles, San Bernardino, and Santa Clara courts should follow the requirements in state law related to how quickly to report individuals to Justice.

6-Month Agency Response

The Mental Health Court implemented a Department of Justice Reporting Procedures Policy on July 17, 2013. The instructions require the judicial assistants to send the Notice to Department of Justice to the clerks office at the end of each day. Each morning the Notices are placed in a basket for priority processing by clerical staff. A designated employee is instructed to process the Notices and place them in the outgoing mail bin on the same day. Mail is picked up by 9:00 a.m. each day.

Backup staff has been trained fully to cover when the designated employee is absent. The supervisor in the clerks office monitors the basket daily and makes certain that no notices are left prior to processing the outgoing mail. Since the initial 60 day response to the Auditors Recommendations, the Mental Health Court continues to ensure that all Department of Justice Notices are mailed within the statutory time frame, i.e., within 48 hours, of the Courts order.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 6-Month Status: Fully Implemented

60-Day Agency Response

The Mental Health Court implemented a Department of Justice Reporting Procedures Policy on July 17, 2013. The instructions require the Notices to Department of Justice to be mailed within 24 hours of receipt of the Notices from the courtroom. The judicial assistants send the notices to the clerk's office at the end of each day. Each morning the notices are placed in a basket for processing by clerical staff. A designated employee is instructed that these notices are to be processed and placed in the outgoing mail bin that same date. Backup staff has been trained fully to cover when the designated employee is absent. The supervisor in the clerk's office monitors the basket daily and makes certain that no notices are left prior to processing the outgoing mail. Outgoing mail is picked up by 9:00 a.m. the following working day.

The Criminal court locations are using the Superior Court Report of Firearm Prohibition/Release BOF 4076 (Rev. 04/2013) to report all cases where a defendant's mental incompetency or when competency has been restored to the Department of Justice. Staff fill out this form, place a completed copy inside the confidential envelope inside the case file, and mail the original completed form to the address on the bottom of the form. The original forms are mailed out within 48 hours of the court proceeding. A directive was sent out to all Criminal court locations informing staff of these requirements on October 15, 2013. The first full month of compliance would be November 2013.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 60-Day Status: Partially Implemented

Although Los Angeles Court states that it is compliant with its directive to mail report forms within 48 hours, formal procedures for the criminal court locations have not yet been finalized. However, procedures for reporting in compliance with state law now exist at its Mental Health Courthouse.

All Recommendations in 2013-103

Agency responses received are posted verbatim.