Report 2019-119 Recommendation Responses
Report 2019-119: Lanterman-Petris-Short Act: California Has Not Ensured That Individuals With Serious Mental Illnesses Receive Adequate Ongoing Care (Release Date: July 2020)
Recommendation for Legislative Action
The Legislature should amend state law to require counties to adopt assisted outpatient treatment programs. However, to ensure the counties' ability to effectively implement such programs, the amended law should allow counties to opt out of adopting assisted outpatient treatment programs by seeking a time-limited waiver from Health Care Services. The Legislature should require a county seeking a waiver to specify what barriers exist to adopting an assisted outpatient treatment program and how the county will attempt to remove those barriers. The Legislature should require Health Care Services to make a final determination as to whether a county will be permitted to opt out of adopting an assisted outpatient treatment program.
Description of Legislative Action
AB 1976 (Chapter 140, Statutes of 2020) commencing July 1, 2021, requires counties to offer assisted outpatient programs, unless they opt out by a resolution passed by the governing body stating the reasons for opting out and any facts or circumstances relied on in making that decision. Counties are also authorized to offer assisted outpatient programs in combination with one or more counties, and prohibited from reducing existing voluntary mental health programs serving adults, or children's mental health programs, as a result of implementing the assisted outpatient programs.
- Legislative Action Current As-of: October 2020