To: Board of Supervisors
From: Supervisor Steve Madrone
Agenda Section: Initiated by Board Member
SUBJECT:
title
Letter of Support for Assembly Bill 1976 (Eggman) Related to Mental Health Services (Supervisor Steve Madrone)
end
RECOMMENDATION(S):
Recommendation
That the Board of Supervisors:
1. Consider, approve and authorize the Chair to sign the Behavioral Health Board's request to send a letter (Attachment 1) to Senator McGuire in support of Assembly Bill 1976 (Eggman), legislation related to mental health assisted outpatient treatment, known as Laura's Law; and
2. Direct the Clerk of the Board to distribute the attached letter, after signature, to the addressees.
Body
SOURCE OF FUNDING:
Mental Health Fund
DISCUSSION:
On June 25, 2020, the Humboldt County Behavioral Health Board voted to request that the Board of Supervisors send a letter of support to Senator McGuire for Assembly Bill 1976 (AB 1976) (Eggman), legislation related to mental health assisted outpatient treatment.
Existing law, known as "Laura's Law", allows courts to compel involuntary assisted outpatient treatment (AOT) for people with a record of mental health hospitalizations, incarcerations or violence. The individual must have been offered an opportunity to voluntarily participate in a treatment plan by the local behavioral health department, yet is likely to relapse or deteriorate to the point of being dangerous to self or others. Implementing Laura's Law is voluntary; counties may opt-in to implementing AOT utilizing their existing mental health services funds and are prohibited from reducing existing voluntary mental health programs serving adults, or children's mental health programs, as a result of implementation. According the California Association of Counties (CSAC), over twenty counties have opted to implement AOT since its passage in 2002 as a demonstration project. The sunset date has been extended several times since.
* AB 1976 would make Laura's Law perm...
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