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
To better serve individuals who are among the most in need of critical, community-based treatment and services, the Legislature should amend state law to do the following:
Identify those who have left LPS Act holds and who experience serious mental illnesses as a population that MHSA funds must target.
Establish a goal in the MHSA of connecting all such individuals to the community-based programs and services that they would benefit from—such as assisted outpatient treatment—and require counties to fund efforts to link these individuals to those programs and services. The Legislature should also establish that a goal of providing those programs and services is to reduce the number of repeated involuntary holds or conservatorships that occur.
Specify that counties can use any portion of their MHSA funds for this purpose as long as they comply with other statutory and regulatory requirements.
Description of Legislative Action
As of September 2, 2022, the Legislature has not taken action to address this specific recommendation.
- Legislative Action Current As-of: September 2022
California State Auditor's Assessment of Annual Follow-Up Status: No Action Taken
As of September 2, 2022, the Legislature has not taken action to address this specific recommendation.
Description of Legislative Action
AB 1340 (Santiago, 2021) would require State Hospitals to create a model discharge plan for counties and hospitals to follow when discharging those held under temporary holds or conservatorship. The bill would require county mental health departments to collaborate with facilities and hospitals to develop, implement, and adhere to an adequate discharge plan that ensures continuity of services and care in the community for all individuals exiting holds or conservatorship and to implement that plan across the entire network of acute and subacute facilities on or before July 1, 2023. This bill would clarify that counties may pay for these services using funds from the MHSA Fund when included in county plans, and would also authorize counties to pay for those services with specified funds from the Local Revenue Fund and the Local Revenue Fund 2011. The bill would require Health Care Services to, on or before July 1, 2022, issue guidance specifying which services authorized under the LPS Act may be paid by counties with funds from the MHSA Fund.
- Legislative Action Current As-of: July 2021
California State Auditor's Assessment of 1-Year Status: Legislation Introduced
Description of Legislative Action
As of January 28, 2021, the Legislature has not taken action to address this specific recommendation.
- Legislative Action Current As-of: January 2021
California State Auditor's Assessment of 6-Month Status: No Action Taken
Description of Legislative Action
As of September 28, 2020, the Legislature has not taken action to address this specific recommendation.
- Legislative Action Current As-of: October 2020