Welfare and Institutions Code

Welfare and Institutions Code DIVISION 5. COMMUNITY MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES	Welf & Inst. Code Section Nos.
PART 1. THE LANTERMAN-PETRIS-SHORT ACT
CHAPTER 1. GENERAL PROVISIONS	5000-5120
CHAPTER 2. INVOLUNTARY TREATMENT
Article 1. Detention of Mentally Disordered Persons for Evaluation and Treatment	5150-5157
Article 1.5 Detention of Inebriates for Evaluation and Treatment	5170-5176
Article 2 Court-Ordered Evaluation for Mentally Disordered Persons	5200-5213
Article 3. Court-Ordered Evaluation for Persons Impaired by Chronic Alcoholism or Drug Abuse	5225-5230
Article 4. Certification for Intensive Treatment	5250-5259.3
Article 4.5 Additional Intensive Treatment of Suicidal Persons	5260-5268
Article 4.7 Additional Intensive Treatment	5270.10-5270.65
Article 5 Judicial Review	5275-5278
Article 6. Postcertification Procedures for Imminently Dangerous Persons	5300-5309
Article 7. Legal and Civil Rights of Persons Involuntarily Detained	5325-5337
Article 8 Community Controlled Substances Treatment Services	5340-5344
Article 9 The Assisted Outpatient Treatment Demonstration Project Act of 2002	5345-5349.5
CHAPTER 3. CONSERVATORSHIP FOR GRAVELY DISABLED PERSONS	5350-5372

CHAPTER 1. GENERAL PROVISIONS

Welfare and Institutions Code §§ 5000-5120

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5000. This part shall be known and may be cited as the Lanterman-Petris-Short Act.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5001. The provisions of this part shall be construed to promote the legislative intent as follows:

(a) To end the inappropriate, indefinite, and involuntary commitment of mentally disordered persons, developmentally disabled persons, and persons impaired by chronic alcoholism, and to eliminate legal disabilities;

(b) To provide prompt evaluation and treatment of persons with serious mental disorders or impaired by chronic alcoholism;

(d) To safeguard individual rights through judicial review;

(e) To provide individualized treatment, supervision, and placement services by a conservatorship program for gravely disabled persons;

(f) To encourage the full use of all existing agencies, professional personnel and public funds to accomplish these objectives and to prevent duplication of services and unnecessary expenditures;

(g) To protect mentally disordered persons and developmentally disabled persons from criminal acts.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5002. Mentally disordered persons and persons impaired by chronic alcoholism may no longer be judicially committed.

Mentally disordered persons shall receive services pursuant to this part. Persons impaired by chronic alcoholism may receive services pursuant to this part if they elect to do so pursuant to Article 3 (commencing with Section 5225) of Chapter 2 of this part.

Epileptics may no longer be judicially committed.

This part shall not be construed to repeal or modify laws relating to the commitment of mentally disordered sex offenders, mentally retarded persons, and mentally disordered criminal offenders, except as specifically provided in Penal Code Section 4011.6, or as specifically provided in other statutes.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5003. Nothing in this part shall be construed in any way as limiting the right of any person to make voluntary application at any time to any public or private agency or practitioner for mental health services, either by direct application in person, or by referral from any other public or private agency or practitioner.

Welfare and Institutions Code §5004. Mentally disordered persons and developmentally disabled persons shall receive protection from criminal acts equal to that provided any other resident in this state.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5004.5. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a legal guardian, conservator, or any other person who reasonably believes a mentally disordered or developmentally disabled person is the victim of a crime may file a report with an appropriate law enforcement agency. The report shall specify the nature of the alleged offense and any pertinent evidence. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the information in such report shall not be deemed confidential in any manner. No person shall incur any civil or criminal liability as a result of making any report authorized by this section unless it can be shown that a false report was made and the person knew or should have known that the report was false.

Where the district attorney of the county in which the alleged offense occurred finds, based upon the evidence contained in the report and any other evidence obtained through regular investigatory procedures, that a reasonable probability exists that a crime or public offense has been committed and that the mentally disordered or developmentally disabled person is the victim, the district attorney may file a complaint verified on information and belief.

The filing of a report by a legal guardian, conservator, or any other person pursuant to this section shall not constitute evidence that a crime or public offense has been committed and shall not be considered in any manner by the trier of fact.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5005. Unless specifically stated, a person complained against in any petition or proceeding initiated by virtue of the provisions of this part shall not forfeit any legal right or suffer legal disability by reason of the provisions of this part.

Welfare and Institutions Code §5006. The provisions of this part shall not be construed to deny treatment by spiritual means through prayer in accordance with the tenets and practices of a recognized church or denomination for any person detained for evaluation or treatment who desires such treatment, or to a minor if his parent, guardian, or conservator desires such treatment.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5007. Unless otherwise indicated, the provisions of this part shall not be construed to apply retroactively to terminate court commitments of mentally ill persons or inebriates under preexisting law.

Welfare and Institutions Code §5008. Unless the context otherwise requires, the following definitions shall govern the construction of this part:

(a) "Evaluation" consists of multidisciplinary professional analyses of a person's medical, psychological, educational, social, financial, and legal conditions as may appear to constitute a problem. Persons providing evaluation services shall be properly qualified professionals and may be full-time employees of an agency providing evaluation services or may be part-time employees or may be employed on a contractual basis.

(b) "Court-ordered evaluation" means an evaluation ordered by a superior court pursuant to Article 2 (commencing with Section 5200) or by a court pursuant to Article 3 (commencing with Section 5225) of Chapter 2.

(c) "Intensive treatment" consists of such hospital and other services as may be indicated. Intensive treatment shall be provided by properly qualified professionals and carried out in facilities qualifying for reimbursement under the California Medical Assistance Program (Medi-Cal) set forth in Chapter 7 (commencing with Section 14000) of Part 3 of Division 9, or under Title XVIII of the federal Social Security Act and regulations thereunder. Intensive treatment may be provided in hospitals of the United States government by properly qualified professionals. Nothing in this part shall be construed to prohibit an intensive treatment facility from also providing 72-hour treatment and evaluation.

(d) "Referral" is referral of persons by each agency or facility providing intensive treatment or evaluation services to other agencies or individuals. The purpose of referral shall be to provide for continuity of care, and may include, but need not be limited to, informing the person of available services, making appointments on the person's behalf, discussing the person's problem with the agency or individual to which the person has been referred, appraising the outcome of referrals, and arranging for personal escort and transportation when necessary. Referral shall be considered complete when the agency or individual to whom the person has been referred accepts responsibility for providing the necessary services. All persons shall be advised of available precare services which prevent initial recourse to hospital treatment or aftercare services which support adjustment to community living following hospital treatment. These services may be provided through county welfare departments, State Department of Mental Health, Short-Doyle programs or other local agencies.

Each agency or facility providing evaluation services shall maintain a current and comprehensive file of all community services, both public and private. These files shall contain current agreements with agencies or individuals accepting referrals, as well as appraisals of the results of past referrals.

(e) "Crisis intervention" consists of an interview or series of interviews within a brief period of time, conducted by qualified professionals, and designed to alleviate personal or family situations which present a serious and imminent threat to the health or stability of the person or the family. The interview or interviews may be conducted in the home of the person or family, or on an inpatient or outpatient basis with such therapy, or other services, as may be appropriate. Crisis intervention may, as appropriate, include suicide prevention, psychiatric, welfare, psychological, legal, or other social services.

(f) "Prepetition screening" is a screening of all petitions for court-ordered evaluation as provided in Article 2 (commencing with Section 5200) of Chapter 2, consisting of a professional review of all petitions; an interview with the petitioner and, whenever possible, the person alleged, as a result of mental disorder, to be a danger to others, or to himself or herself, or to be gravely disabled, to assess the problem and explain the petition; when indicated, efforts to persuade the person to receive, on a voluntary basis, comprehensive evaluation, crisis intervention, referral, and other services specified in this part.

(g) "Conservatorship investigation" means investigation by an agency appointed or designated by the governing body of cases in which conservatorship is recommended pursuant to Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 5350).

(h) (1) For purposes of Article 1 (commencing with Section 5150), Article 2 (commencing with Section 5200), and Article 4 (commencing with Section 5250) of Chapter 2, and for the purposes of Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 5350), "gravely disabled" means either of the following:

(A) A condition in which a person, as a result of a mental disorder, is unable to provide for his or her basic personal needs for food, clothing, or shelter.

(B) A condition in which a person, has been found mentally incompetent under Section 1370 of the Penal Code and all of the following facts exist:

(i) The indictment or information pending against the defendant at the time of commitment charges a felony involving death, great bodily harm, or a serious threat to the physical well-being of another person.

(ii) The indictment or information has not been dismissed.

(iii) As a result of mental disorder, the person is unable to understand the nature and purpose of the proceedings taken against him or her and to assist counsel in the conduct of his or her defense in a rational manner.

(2) For purposes of Article 3 (commencing with Section 5225) and Article 4 (commencing with Section 5250), of Chapter 2, and for the purposes of Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 5350), "gravely disabled" means a condition in which a person, as a result of impairment by chronic alcoholism, is unable to provide for his or her basic personal needs for food, clothing, or shelter.

(3) The term "gravely disabled" does not include mentally retarded persons by reason of being mentally retarded alone.

(i) "Peace officer" means a duly sworn peace officer as that term is defined in Chapter 4.5 (commencing with Section 830) of Title 3 of Part 2 of the Penal Code who has completed the basic training course established by the Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training, or any parole officer or probation officer specified in Section 830.5 of the Penal Code when acting in relation to cases for which he or she has a legally mandated responsibility.

(j) "Postcertification treatment" means an additional period of treatment pursuant to Article 6 (commencing with Section 5300) of Chapter 2.

(k) "Court," unless otherwise specified, means a court of record.

(l) "Antipsychotic medication" means any medication customarily prescribed for the treatment of symptoms of psychoses and other severe mental and emotional disorders.

(m) "Emergency" means a situation in which action to impose treatment over the person's objection is immediately necessary for the preservation of life or the prevention of serious bodily harm to the patient or others, and it is impracticable to first gain consent. It is not necessary for harm to take place or become unavoidable prior to treatment.

Welfare and Institutions Code §5008.1. As used in this division and in Division 4 (commencing with Section 4000), Division 4.1 (commencing with Section 4400), Division 6 (commencing with Section 6000), Division 7 (commencing with Section 7100), and Division 8 (commencing with Section 8000), the term "judicially committed" means all of the following:

(a) Persons who are mentally disordered sex offenders placed in a state hospital or institutional unit for observation or committed to the State Department of Mental Health pursuant to Article 1 (commencing with Section 6300) of Chapter 2 of Part 2 of Division 6.

(b) Developmentally disabled persons who are admitted to a state hospital upon application or who are committed to the State Department of Developmental Services by court order pursuant to Article 2 (commencing with Section 6500) of Chapter 2 of Part 2 of Division 6.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5008.2. (a) When applying the definition of mental disorder for the purposes of Articles 2 (commencing with Section 5200), 4 (commencing with Section 5250), and 5 (commencing with Section 5275) of Chapter 2 and Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 5350), the historical course of the person's mental disorder, as determined by available relevant information about the course of the person's mental disorder, shall be considered when it has a direct bearing on the determination of whether the person is a danger to others, or to himself or herself, or is gravely disabled, as a result of a mental disorder. The historical course shall include, but is not limited to, evidence presented by persons who have provided, or are providing, mental health or related support services to the patient, the patient's medical records as presented to the court, including psychiatric records, or evidence voluntarily presented by family members, the patient, or any other person designated by the patient. Facilities shall make every reasonable effort to make information provided by the patient's family available to the court. The hearing officer, court, or jury shall exclude from consideration evidence it determines to be irrelevant because of remoteness of time or dissimilarity of circumstances.

(b) This section shall not be applied to limit the application of Section 5328 or to limit existing rights of a patient to respond to evidence presented to the court.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5009. Persons receiving evaluation or treatment under this part shall be given a choice of physician or other professional person providing such services, in accordance with the policies of each agency providing services, and within the limits of available staff in the agency.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5010. The agency established in this state to fulfill the requirements and assurances of Section 142 of the federal Developmental Disabilities Act of 1984 for a system to protect and advocate the rights of persons with developmental disabilities, as that term is defined by Section 102(7) of the federal act, shall have access to the records of a person with developmental disabilities who resides in a facility for persons with developmental disabilities when both of the following conditions apply:

(1) The agency has received a complaint from or on behalf of the person and the person consents to the disclosure of the records to the extent of his or her capabilities.

(2) The person does not have a parent, guardian or conservator, or the state or the designee of the state is the person's guardian or conservator.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5012. The fact that a person has been taken into custody under this part may not be used in the determination of that person's eligibility for payment or reimbursement for mental health or other health care services for which he or she has applied or received under the Medi-Cal program, any health care service plan licensed under the Knox-Keene Health Care Service Plan Act of 1975 (Chapter 2.2 (commencing with Section 1340) of Division 2 of the Health and Safety Code), or any insurer providing health coverage doing business in the state.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5020.1. A mentally ill minor, between the ages of 3 and 18, upon being considered for release from a state hospital shall have an aftercare plan developed. Such plan shall include educational or training needs, provided these are necessary for the patient's well-being.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5110. Whenever a proceeding is held in a superior court under Article 5 (commencing with Section 5275) or Article 6 (commencing with Section 5300) of this chapter or Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 5350) of this part involving a person who has been placed in a facility located outside the county of residence of the person, the provisions of this section shall apply. The appropriate financial officer or other designated official of the county in which the proceeding is held shall make out a statement of all of the costs incurred by the county for the investigation, preparation, and conduct of the proceedings, and the costs of appeal, if any. The statement shall be certified by a judge of the superior court of the county. The statement shall then be sent to the county of residence of the person, which shall reimburse the county providing the services. If it is not possible to determine the actual county of residence of the person, the statement shall be sent to the county in which the person was originally detained, which shall reimburse the county providing the services.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5111. Any county without a public defender is authorized to compensate the attorneys appointed for persons entitled to be represented by counsel in proceedings under this part.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5113. Except as provided in Sections 5154, 5173, 5259.3, 5267, and 5306, the facility providing treatment pursuant to Article 1 (commencing with Section 5150), Article 1.5 (commencing with Section 5170), Article 4 (commencing with Section 5250), Article 4.5 (commencing with Section 5260) or Article 6 (commencing with Section 5300), the superintendent of the facility, the professional person in charge of the facility and his or her designee, or the peace officer responsible for the detainment of the person shall not be civilly or criminally liable for any action by a person released at or before the end of the period for which he or she was admitted pursuant to the provisions of the appropriate article.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5114. At any judicial proceeding under the provisions of this division, allegations that the person is a danger to others, or to himself, or gravely disabled as a result of mental disorder or impairment by chronic alcoholism, shall be presented by the district attorney for the county, unless the board of supervisors, by ordinance or resolution, delegates such duty to the county counsel.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5115. The Legislature hereby finds and declares:

(a) It is the policy of this state, as declared and established in this section and in the Lanterman Developmental Disabilities Services Act, Division 4.5 (commencing with Section 4500), that mentally and physically handicapped persons are entitled to live in normal residential surroundings and should not be excluded therefrom because of their disability.

(b) In order to achieve uniform statewide implementation of the policies of this section and those of the Lanterman Developmental Disabilities Services Act, it is necessary to establish the statewide policy that the use of property for the care of six or fewer mentally disordered or otherwise handicapped persons is a residential use of such property for the purposes of zoning.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5116. Pursuant to the policy stated in Section 5115, a state-authorized, certified, or licensed family care home, foster home, or group home serving six or fewer mentally disordered or otherwise handicapped persons or dependent and neglected children, shall be considered a residential use of property for the purposes of zoning if such homes provide care on a 24-hour-a-day basis.

Such homes shall be a permitted use in all residential zones, including, but not limited to, residential zones for single-family dwellings.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5117. In order to further facilitate achieving the purposes of this act and the Lanterman Mental Retardation Act of 1969, it is desirable that there be a consolidation of the facilities standard setting, licensure and ratesetting functions of the various state departments under the jurisdiction of the Health and Welfare Agency.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5118. For the purpose of conducting hearings under this part, the court in and for the county where the petition is filed may be convened at any time and place within or outside the county suitable to the mental and physical health of the patient, and receive evidence both oral and written, and render decisions, except that the time and place for hearing shall not be different from the time and place for the trial of civil actions for such court if any party to the proceeding, prior to the hearing, objects to the different time or place.

Hearings conducted at any state hospital or any mental health facility designated by any county as a treatment facility under this part or any facility referred to in Section 5358 or Division 7 (commencing with Section 7100), within or outside the county, shall be deemed to be hearings held in a place for the trial of civil actions and in a regular courtroom of the court.

Notwithstanding any other provisions of this section, any party to the proceeding may demand that the hearing be public, and be held in a place suitable for attendance by the public.

Notwithstanding any other provisions of law, any hearing under this part which was held before enactment of this section but which would have been in accordance with this section had it been effective is deemed to be valid for all purposes.

As used in this section, a "hearing under this part" includes conservatorship and other hearings held pursuant to Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 5350) of this part.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5119. On and after July 1, 1972, when a person who is an employee of the State Department of Mental Health at the time of employment by a county in a county mental health program or on and after July 1, 1972, when a person has been an employee of the State Department of Mental Health within the 12-month period prior to his employment by a county in a county mental health program, the board of supervisors may, to the extent feasible, allow such person to retain as a county employee, those employee benefits to which he was entitled or had accumulated as an employee of the State Department of Mental Health or provide such employee with comparable benefits provided for other county employees whose service as county employees is equal to the state service of the former employee of the State Department of Mental Health. Such benefits include, but are not limited to, retirement benefits, seniority rights under civil service, accumulated vacation and sick leave.

The county may on and after July 1, 1972, establish retraining programs for the State Department of Mental Health employees transferring to county mental health programs provided such programs are financed entirely with state and federal funds made available for that purpose.

For the purpose of this section "employee of the Department of Mental Health" means an employee of such department who performs functions which, prior to July 1, 1973, were vested in the Department of Mental Hygiene.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5120. It is the policy of this state as declared and established in this act and in the Lanterman-Petris-Short Act that the care and treatment of mental patients be provided in the local community. In order to achieve uniform statewide implementation of the policies of this act, it is necessary to establish the statewide policy that, notwithstanding any other provision of law, no city or county shall discriminate in the enactment, enforcement, or administration of any zoning laws, ordinances, or rules and regulations between the use of property for the treatment of general hospital or nursing home patients and the use of property for the psychiatric care and treatment of patients, both inpatient and outpatient.

Health facilities for inpatient and outpatient psychiatric care and treatment shall be permitted in any area zoned for hospitals or nursing homes, or in which hospitals and nursing homes are permitted by conditional use permit.

CHAPTER 2. INVOLUNTARY TREATMENT

Article 1. Detention of Mentally Disordered Persons for Evaluation and Treatment

Welfare and Institutions Code §§ 5150-5157

Welfare and Institutions Code §5150. When any person, as a result of mental disorder, is a danger to others, or to himself or herself, or gravely disabled, a peace officer, member of the attending staff, as defined by regulation, of an evaluation facility designated by the county, designated members of a mobile crisis team provided by Section 5651.7, or other professional person designated by the county may, upon probable cause, take, or cause to be taken, the person into custody and place him or her in a facility designated by the county and approved by the State Department of Mental Health as a facility for 72-hour treatment and evaluation.

Such facility shall require an application in writing stating the circumstances under which the person's condition was called to the attention of the officer, member of the attending staff, or professional person, and stating that the officer, member of the attending staff, or professional person has probable cause to believe that the person is, as a result of mental disorder, a danger to others, or to himself or herself, or gravely disabled. If the probable cause is based on the statement of a person other than the officer, member of the attending staff, or professional person, such person shall be liable in a civil action for intentionally giving a statement which he or she knows to be false.

Welfare and Institutions Code §5150.05. (a) When determining if probable cause exists to take a person into custody, or cause a person to be taken into custody, pursuant to Section 5150, any person who is authorized to take that person, or cause that person to be taken, into custody pursuant to that section shall consider available relevant information about the historical course of the person's mental disorder if the authorized person determines that the information has a reasonable bearing on the determination as to whether the person is a danger to others, or to himself or herself, or is gravely disabled as a result of the mental disorder.

(b) For purposes of this section, "information about the historical course of the person's mental disorder" includes evidence presented by the person who has provided or is providing mental health or related support services to the person subject to a determination described in subdivision (a), evidence presented by one or more members of the family of that person, and evidence presented by the person subject to a determination described in subdivision (a) or anyone designated by that person.

(c) If the probable cause in subdivision (a) is based on the statement of a person other than the one authorized to take the person into custody pursuant to Section 5150, a member of the attending staff, or a professional person, the person making the statement shall be liable in a civil action for intentionally giving any statement that he or she knows to be false.

(d) This section shall not be applied to limit the application of Section 5328.

Welfare and Institutions Code §5150.1. No peace officer seeking to transport, or having transported, a person to a designated facility for assessment under Section 5150, shall be instructed by mental health personnel to take the person to, or keep the person at, a jail solely because of the unavailability of an acute bed, nor shall the peace officer be forbidden to transport the person directly to the designated facility. No mental health employee from any county, state, city, or any private agency providing Short-Doyle psychiatric emergency services shall interfere with a peace officer performing duties under Section 5150 by preventing the peace officer from entering a designated facility with the person to be assessed, nor shall any employee of such an agency require the peace officer to remove the person without assessment as a condition of allowing the peace officer to depart.

"Peace officer" for the purposes of this section also means a jailer seeking to transport or transporting a person in custody to a designated facility for assessment consistent with Section 4011.6 or 4011.8 of the Penal Code and Section 5150.

Welfare and Institutions Code §5150.2. In each county whenever a peace officer has transported a person to a designated facility for assessment under Section 5150, that officer shall be detained no longer than the time necessary to complete documentation of the factual basis of the detention under Section 5150 and a safe and orderly transfer of physical custody of the person. The documentation shall include detailed information regarding the factual circumstances and observations constituting probable cause for the peace officer to believe that the individual required psychiatric evaluation under the standards of Section 5105.

Each county shall establish disposition procedures and guidelines with local law enforcement agencies as necessary to relate to persons not admitted for evaluation and treatment and who decline alternative mental health services and to relate to the safe and orderly transfer of physical custody of persons under Section 5150, including those who have a criminal detention pending.

Welfare and Institutions Code §5150.3. Whenever any person presented for evaluation at a facility designated under Section 5150 is found to be in need of mental health services, but is not admitted to the facility, all available alternative services provided for pursuant to Section 5151 shall be offered as determined by the county mental health director.

Welfare and Institutions Code §5150.4. "Assessment" for the purposes of this article, means the determination of whether a person shall be evaluated and treated pursuant to Section 5150.

Welfare and Institutions Code §5151. If the facility for 72-hour treatment and evaluation admits the person, it may detain him or her for evaluation and treatment for a period not to exceed 72 hours. Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays may be excluded from the 72-hour period if the Department of Mental Health certifies for each facility that evaluation and treatment services cannot reasonably be made available on those days. The certification by the department is subject to renewal every two years. The department shall adopt regulations defining criteria for determining whether a facility can reasonably be expected to make evaluation and treatment services available on Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays.

Prior to admitting a person to the facility for 72-hour treatment and evaluation pursuant to Section 5150, the professional person in charge of the facility or his or her designee shall assess the individual in person to determine the appropriateness of the involuntary detention.

If in the judgment of the professional person in charge of the facility providing evaluation and treatment, or his or her designee, the person can be properly served without being detained, he or she shall be provided evaluation, crisis intervention, or other inpatient or outpatient services on a voluntary basis.

Nothing in this section shall be interpreted to prevent a peace officer from delivering individuals to a designated facility for assessment under Section 5150. Furthermore, the preadmission assessment requirement of this section shall not be interpreted to require peace officers to perform any additional duties other than those specified in Sections 5150.1 and 5150.2.

Welfare and Institutions Code §5152. (a) Each person admitted to a facility for 72-hour treatment and evaluation under the provisions of this article shall receive an evaluation as soon as possible after he or she is admitted and shall receive whatever treatment and care his or her condition requires for the full period that he or she is held. The person shall be released before 72 hours have elapsed only if the psychiatrist directly responsible for the person's treatment believes, as a result of the psychiatrist's personal observations, that the person no longer requires evaluation or treatment. However, in those situations in which both a psychiatrist and psychologist have personally evaluated or examined a person who is placed under a 72-hour hold and there is a collaborative treatment relationship between the psychiatrist and psychologist, either the psychiatrist or psychologist may authorize the release of the person from the hold, but only after they have consulted with one another. In the event of a clinical or professional disagreement regarding the early release of a person who has been placed under a 72-hour hold, the hold shall be maintained unless the facility's medical director overrules the decision of the psychiatrist or psychologist opposing the release. Both the psychiatrist and psychologist shall enter their findings, concerns, or objections into the person's medical record. If any other professional person who is authorized to release the person believes the person should be released before 72 hours have elapsed, and the psychiatrist directly responsible for the person's treatment objects, the matter shall be referred to the medical director of the facility for the final decision. However, if the medical director is not a psychiatrist, he or she shall appoint a designee who is a psychiatrist. If the matter is referred, the person shall be released before 72 hours have elapsed only if the psychiatrist making the final decision believes, as a result of the psychiatrist's personal observations, that the person no longer requires evaluation or treatment.

(b) Any person who has been detained for evaluation and treatment shall be released, referred for further care and treatment on a voluntary basis, or certified for intensive treatment, or a conservator or temporary conservator shall be appointed pursuant to this part as required.

(c) A person designated by the mental health facility shall give to any person who has been detained at that facility for evaluation and treatment and who is receiving medication as a result of his or her mental illness, as soon as possible after detention, written and oral information about the probable effects and possible side effects of the medication. The State Department of Mental Health shall develop and promulgate written materials on the effects of medications, for use by county mental health programs as disseminated or as modified by the county mental health program, addressing the probable effects and the possible side effects of the medication. The following information shall be given orally to the patient:

(1) The nature of the mental illness, or behavior, that is the reason the medication is being given or recommended.

(2) The likelihood of improving or not improving without the medication.

(3) Reasonable alternative treatments available.

(4) The name and type, frequency, amount, and method of dispensing the medication, and the probable length of time the medication will be taken.

The fact that the information has or has not been given shall be indicated in the patient's chart. If the information has not been given, the designated person shall document in the patient's chart the justification for not providing the information. A failure to give information about the probable effects and possible side effects of the medication shall not constitute new grounds for release.

(d) The amendments to this section made by Assembly Bill 348 of the 2003-04 Regular Session shall not be construed to revise or expand the scope of practice of psychologists, as defined in Chapter 6.6 (commencing with Section 2900) of Division 2 of the Business and Professions Code.

Welfare and Institutions Code §5152.1. The professional person in charge of the facility providing 72-hour evaluation and treatment, or his or her designee, shall notify the county mental health director or the director's designee and the peace officer who makes the written application pursuant to Section 5150 or a person who is designated by the law enforcement agency that employs the peace officer, when the person has been released after 72-hour detention, when the person is not detained, or when the person is released before the full period of allowable 72-hour detention if all of the following conditions apply:

(a) The peace officer requests such notification at the time he or she makes the application and the peace officer certifies at that time in writing that the person has been referred to the facility under circumstances which, based upon an allegation of facts regarding actions witnessed by the officer or another person, would support the filing of a criminal complaint.

(b) The notice is limited to the person's name, address, date of admission for 72-hour evaluation and treatment, and date of release.

If a police officer, law enforcement agency, or designee of the law enforcement agency, possesses any record of information obtained pursuant to the notification requirements of this section, the officer, agency, or designee shall destroy that record two years after receipt of notification.

Welfare and Institutions Code §5152.2. Each law enforcement agency within a county shall arrange with the county mental health director a method for giving prompt notification to peace officers pursuant to Section 5152.1.

Welfare and Institutions Code §5153. Whenever possible, officers charged with apprehension of persons pursuant to this article shall dress in plain clothes and travel in unmarked vehicles.

Welfare and Institutions Code §5154. (a) Notwithstanding Section 5113, if the provisions of Section 5152 have been met, the professional person in charge of the facility providing 72-hour treatment and evaluation, his or her designee, the medical director of the facility or his or her designee described in Section 5152, the psychiatrist directly responsible for the person's treatment, or the psychologist shall not be held civilly or criminally liable for any action by a person released before the end of 72 hours pursuant to this article.

(b) The professional person in charge of the facility providing 72-hour treatment and evaluation, his or her designee, the medical director of the facility or his or her designee described in Section 5152, the psychiatrist directly responsible for the person's treatment, or the psychologist shall not be held civilly or criminally liable for any action by a person released at the end of the 72 hours pursuant to this article.

(c) The peace officer responsible for the detainment of the person shall not be civilly or criminally liable for any action by a person released at or before the end of the 72 hours pursuant to this article.

Welfare and Institutions Code §5155. Nothing in this part shall be construed as granting authority to local entities to issue licenses supplementary to existing state and local licensing laws.

Welfare and Institutions Code §5156. At the time a person is taken into custody for evaluation, or within a reasonable time thereafter, unless a responsible relative or the guardian or conservator of the person is in possession of the person's personal property, the person taking him into custody shall take reasonable precautions to preserve and safeguard the personal property in the possession of or on the premises occupied by the person. The person taking him into custody shall then furnish to the court a report generally describing the person's property so preserved and safeguarded and its disposition, in substantially the form set forth in Section 5211; except that if a responsible relative or the guardian or conservator of the person is in possession of the person's property, the report shall include only the name of the relative or guardian or conservator and the location of the property, whereupon responsibility of the person taking him into custody for such property shall terminate.

As used in this section, "responsible relative" includes the spouse, parent, adult child, or adult brother or sister of the person, except that it does not include the person who applied for the petition under this article.

Welfare and Institutions Code §5157. (a) Each person, at the time he or she is first taken into custody under provisions of Section 5150, shall be provided, by the person who takes such other person into custody, the following information orally. The information shall be in substantially the following form:

My name is ____________________________________________.

I am a ________________________________________________.

(peace officer, mental health professional)

with __________________________________________________.

(name of agency)

You are not under criminal arrest, but I am taking you

for examination by mental health professionals at _____

_______________________________________________________.

(name of facility)

You will be told your rights by the mental health staff.

If taken into custody at his or her residence, the

person shall also be told the following information in

substantially the following form:

You may bring a few personal items with you which I

will have to approve. You can make a phone call and/or

leave a note to tell your friends and/or family where

you have been taken.

(b) The designated facility shall keep, for each patient evaluated, a record of the advisement given pursuant to subdivision (a) which shall include:

(1) Name of person detained for evaluation.

(2) Name and position of peace officer or mental health professional taking person into custody.

(3) Date.

(4) Whether advisement was completed.

(5) If not given or completed, the mental health professional at the facility shall either provide the information specified in subdivision (a), or include a statement of good cause, as defined by regulations of the State Department of Mental Health, which shall be kept with the patient's medical record.

(c) Each person admitted to a designated facility for 72-hour evaluation and treatment shall be given the following information by admission staff at the evaluation unit. The information shall be given orally and in writing and in a language or modality accessible to the person. The written information shall be available in the person's native language or the language which is the person's principal means of communication. The information shall be in substantially the following form:

My name is ____________________________________________________.

My position here is ___________________________________________.

You are being placed into the psychiatric unit because it is our professional opinion that as a result of mental disorder, you are likely to: (check applicable)

harm yourself ____

harm someone else ____

be unable to take care of your own food, clothing, and housing needs ____

We feel this is true because

________________________________________________________________

(herewith a listing of the facts upon which the allegation of dangerous or gravely disabled due to mental disorder is based, including pertinent facts arising from the admission interview.)

You will be held on the ward for a period up to 72 hours. This does not include weekends or holidays.

Your 72-hour period will begin ________________________________

(day and time.)

During these 72 hours you will be evaluated by the hospital

staff, and you may be given treatment, including medications.

It is possible for you to be released before the end of the 72

hours. But if the staff decides that you need continued treat-

ment you can be held for a longer period of time. If you are

held longer than 72 hours you have the right to a lawyer and a

qualified interpreter and a hearing before a judge. If you are

unable to pay for the lawyer, then one will be provided free.

(d) For each patient admitted for 72-hour evaluation and treatment, the facility shall keep with the patient's medical record a record of the advisement given pursuant to subdivision (c) which shall include:

(1) Name of person performing advisement.

(2) Date.

(3) Whether advisement was completed.

(4) If not completed, a statement of good cause.

If the advisement was not completed at admission, the advisement process shall be continued on the ward until completed. A record of the matters prescribed by subdivisions (a), (b), and (c) shall be kept with the patient's medical record.

Article 1.5 Detention of Inebriates for Evaluation and Treatment

Welfare and Institutions Code §§ 5170-5176

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5170. When any person is a danger to others, or to himself, or gravely disabled as a result of inebriation, a peace officer, member of the attending staff, as defined by regulation, of an evaluation facility designated by the county, or other person designated by the county may, upon reasonable cause, take, or cause to be taken, the person into civil protective custody and place him in a facility designated by the county and approved by the State Department of Alcohol and Drug Abuse as a facility for 72-hour treatment and evaluation of inebriates.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5170.1. A 72-hour treatment and evaluation facility shall include one or more of the following:

(1) A screening, evaluation, and referral facility which may be accomplished by a mobile crisis unit, first aid station or ambulatory detoxification unit;

(2) A detoxification facility for alcoholic and acutely intoxicated persons.

(3) An alcohol recovery house.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5170.3. Such evaluation facility shall require an application in writing stating the circumstances under which the person's condition was called to the attention of the officer, member of the attending staff, or other designated person, and stating that the officer, member of the attending staff, or other designated person believes as a result of his personal observations that the person is, as a result of inebriation, a danger to others, or to himself, or gravely disabled or has violated subdivision (f) of Section 647 of the Penal Code.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5170.5. Any person placed in an evaluation facility has, immediately after he is taken to an evaluation facility and except where physically impossible, no later than three hours after he is placed in such facility or taken to such unit, the right to make, at his own expense, at least two completed telephone calls. If the person placed in the evaluation facility does not have money upon him with which to make such calls, he shall be allowed free at least two completed local toll free or collect telephone calls.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5170.7. A person who requests to be released from the facility before 72 hours have elapsed shall be released only if the psychiatrist directly responsible for the person's treatment believes, as a result of his or her personal observations, that the person is not a danger to others, or to himself or herself. If any other professional person who is authorized to release the person, believes the person should be released before 72 hours have elapsed, and the psychiatrist directly responsible for the person's treatment objects, the matter shall be referred to the medical director of the facility for the final decision. However, if the medical director is not a psychiatrist, he or she shall appoint a designee who is a psychiatrist. If the matter is referred, the person shall be released before 72 hours have elapsed only if the psychiatrist making the final decision believes, as a result of his or her personal observations, that the person is not a danger to others, or to himself or herself.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5171. If the facility for 72-hour treatment and evaluation of inebriates admits the person, it may detain him for evaluation and detoxification treatment, and such other treatment as may be indicated, for a period not to exceed 72 hours. Saturdays, Sundays and holidays shall be included for the purpose of calculating the 72-hour period. However, a person may voluntarily remain in such facility for more than 72 hours if the professional person in charge of the facility determines the person is in need of and may benefit from further treatment and care, provided any person who is taken or caused to be taken to the facility shall have priority for available treatment and care over a person who has voluntarily remained in a facility for more than 72 hours.

If in the judgment of the professional person in charge of the facility providing evaluation and treatment, the person can be properly served without being detained, he shall be provided evaluation, detoxification treatment or other treatment, crisis intervention, or other inpatient or outpatient services on a voluntary basis.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5172. Each person admitted to a facility for 72-hour treatment and evaluation under the provisions of this article shall receive an evaluation as soon after he or she is admitted as possible and shall receive whatever treatment and care his or her condition requires for the full period that he or she is held. The person shall be released before 72 hours have elapsed only if, the psychiatrist directly responsible for the person's treatment believes, as a result of his or her personal observations, that the person no longer requires evaluation or treatment. If any other professional person who is authorized to release the person, believes the person should be released before 72 hours have elapsed, and the psychiatrist directly responsible for the person's treatment objects, the matter shall be referred to the medical director of the facility for the final decision. However, if the medical director is not a psychiatrist, he or she shall appoint a designee who is a psychiatrist. If the matter is referred, the person shall be released before 72 hours have elapsed only if the psychiatrist making the final decision believes, as a result of his or her personal observations, that the person no longer requires evaluation or treatment.

Persons who have been detained for evaluation and treatment shall be released, referred for further care and treatment on a voluntary basis, or, if the person, as a result of impairment by chronic alcoholism, is a danger to others or to himself or herself, or gravely disabled, he or she may be certified for intensive treatment, or a conservator or temporary conservator shall be appointed for him or her pursuant to this part as required.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5172.1. Any person who is a danger to others, or to himself, or gravely disabled as a result of inebriation, may voluntarily apply for admission to a 72-hour evaluation and detoxification treatment facility for inebriates.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5173. (a) Notwithstanding Section 5113, if the provisions of Section 5170.7 or 5172 have been met, the professional person in charge of the facility providing 72-hour treatment and evaluation, the medical director of the facility or his or her designee described in Sections 5170.7 and 5172, and the psychiatrist directly responsible for the person's treatment shall not be held civilly or criminally liable for any action by a person released before the end of 72 hours pursuant to this article.

(b) The professional person in charge of the facility providing 72-hour treatment and evaluation, the medical director of the facility or his or her designee described in Sections 5170.7 and 5172, and the psychiatrist directly responsible for the person's treatment shall not be held civilly or criminally liable for any action by a person released at the end of the 72 hours pursuant to this article.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5174. It is the intent of the Legislature (a) that facilities for 72-hour treatment and evaluation of inebriates be subject to state funding under Part 2 (commencing with Section 5600) of this division only if they provide screening, evaluation and referral services and have available medical services in the facility or by referral agreement with an appropriate medical facility, and would normally be considered an integral part of a community health program; (b) that state reimbursement under Part 2 (commencing with Section 5600) for such 72-hour facilities and intensive treatment facilities, under this article shall not be included as priority funding as are reimbursements for other county expenditures under this part for involuntary treatment services, but may be provided on the basis of new and expanded services if funds for new and expanded services are available; that while facilities receiving funds from other sources may, if eligible for funding under this division, be designated as 72-hour facilities, or intensive treatment facilities for the purposes of this article, funding of such facilities under this division shall not be substituted for such previous funding.

No 72-hour facility, or intensive treatment facility for the purposes of this article shall be eligible for funding under Part 2 (commencing with Section 5600) of this division until approved by the Director of Alcohol and Drug Abuse in accordance with standards established by the State Department of Alcohol and Drug Abuse in regulations adopted pursuant to this part. To the maximum extent possible, each county shall utilize services provided for inebriates and persons impaired by chronic alcoholism by federal and other funds presently used for such services, including federal and other funds made available to the State Department of Rehabilitation and the State Department of Alcohol and Drug Abuse. McAteer funds shall not be utilized for the purposes of the 72-hour involuntary holding program as outlined in this chapter.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5175. Nothing in this article shall be construed to prevent a facility designated as a facility for 72-hour evaluation and treatment of inebriates from also being designated as a facility for 72-hour evaluation and treatment of other persons subject to this part, including persons impaired by chronic alcoholism.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5176. This article shall apply only to those counties wherein the board of supervisors has adopted a resolution stating that suitable facilities exist within the county for the care and treatment of inebriates and persons impaired by chronic alcoholism, designating the facilities to be used as facilities for 72-hour treatment and evaluation of inebriates and for the extensive treatment of persons impaired by chronic alcoholism, and otherwise adopting the provisions of this article.

Each county Short-Doyle plan for a county to which this article is made applicable shall designate the specific facility or facilities for 72-hour evaluation and detoxification treatment of inebriates and for intensive treatment of persons impaired by chronic alcoholism and for the treatment of such persons on a voluntary basis under this article, and shall specify the maximum number of patients that can be served at any one time by each such facility.

Article 2 Court-Ordered Evaluation for Mentally Disordered Persons

Welfare and Institutions Code §§ 5200-5213

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5200. Any person alleged, as a result of mental disorder, to be a danger to others, or to himself, or to be gravely disabled, may be given an evaluation of his condition under a superior court order pursuant to this article. The provisions of this article shall be carried out with the utmost consideration for the privacy and dignity of the person for whom a court-ordered evaluation is requested.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5201. Any individual may apply to the person or agency designated by the county for a petition alleging that there is in the county a person who is, as a result of mental disorder a danger to others, or to himself, or is gravely disabled, and requesting that an evaluation of the person's condition be made.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5202. The person or agency designated by the county shall prepare the petition and all other forms required in the proceeding, and shall be responsible for filing the petition. Before filing the petition, the person or agency designated by the county shall request the person or agency designated by the county and approved by the State Department of Mental Health to provide prepetition screening to determine whether there is probable cause to believe the allegations. The person or agency providing prepetition screening shall conduct a reasonable investigation of the allegations and make a reasonable effort to personally interview the subject of the petition. The screening shall also determine whether the person will agree voluntarily to receive crisis intervention services or an evaluation in his own home or in a facility designated by the county and approved by the State Department of Mental Health. Following prepetition screening, the person or agency designated by the county shall file the petition if satisfied that there is probable cause to believe that the person is, as a result of mental disorder, a danger to others, or to himself or herself, or gravely disabled, and that the person will not voluntarily receive evaluation or crisis intervention.

If the petition is filed, it shall be accompanied by a report containing the findings of the person or agency designated by the county to provide prepetition screening. The prepetition screening report submitted to the superior court shall be confidential and shall be subject to the provisions of Section 5328.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5203. Any individual who seeks a petition for court-ordered evaluation knowing that the person for whom the petition is sought is not, as a result of mental disorder, a danger to himself, or to others, or gravely disabled is guilty of a misdemeanor, and may be held liable in civil damages by the person against whom the petition was sought.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5204. The petition for a court-ordered evaluation shall contain the following:

(a) The name and address of the petitioner and his interest in the case.

(b) The name of the person alleged, as a result of mental disorder, to be a danger to others, or to himself, or to be gravely disabled, and, if known to the petitioner, the address, age, sex, marital status, and occupation of the person.

(d) The name of, as a respondent thereto, every person known or believed by the petitioner to be legally responsible for the care, support, and maintenance of the person alleged, as a result of mental disorder, to be a danger to others, or to himself, or to be gravely disabled, and the address of each such person, if known to the petitioner.

(e) Such other information as the court may require.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5205. The petition shall be in substantially the following form:

In the Superior Court of the State of California

for the County of ____________

__________________________________________

The People of the State of California No. ________

Concerning Petition for

__________________________________ and Evaluation

______________________________________

Respondents

__________________________________________

__________, residing at ________ (tel. ______), being duly

sworn, alleges: That there is now in the county, in the City

or Town of ____, a person named _____, who resides at ______,

and who is, as a result of mental disorder:

(1) A danger to others.

(2) A danger to himself or herself.

(3) Gravely disabled as defined in subdivision (h) of

Section 5008 of the Welfare and Institutions Code (Strike

out all inapplicable classifications).

That the person is ______ years of age; that __ the

person is ____ (sex); and that __ the person is ____

(single, married, widowed, or divorced); and that ____

occupation is ____.

That the facts upon which the allegations of the petition

are based are as follows: That __ the person, at ____

in the county, on the ____ day of ____, 20__, ___________

____________________________________________________________

That petitioner's interest in the case is _______________

____________________________________________________________

That the person responsible for the care, support, and

maintenance of the person, and their relationship to the

person are, so far as known to the petitioner, as follows:

(Give names, addresses, and relationship of persons named as

respondents)

Wherefore, petitioner prays that evaluation be made to

determine the condition of __________, alleged, as a result

of mental disorder, to be a danger to others, or to himself

or herself, or to be gravely disabled.

________________________________

Petitioner

Subscribed and sworn to before me this ____ day of ______

20__.

_____________________, Clerk of

the Court

By ________________________ Deputy

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5206. Whenever it appears, by petition pursuant to this article, to the satisfaction of a judge of a superior court that a person is, as a result of mental disorder, a danger to others, or to himself, or gravely disabled, and the person has refused or failed to accept evaluation voluntarily, the judge shall issue an order notifying the person to submit to an evaluation at such time and place as designated by the judge. The order for an evaluation shall be served as provided in Section 5208 by a peace officer, counselor in mental health, or a court-appointed official. The person shall be permitted to remain in his home or other place of his choosing prior to the time of evaluation, and shall be permitted to be accompanied by one or more of his relatives, friends, an attorney, a personal physician, or other professional or religious advisor to the place of evaluation. If the person to receive evaluation so requests, the individual or individuals who accompany him may be present during the evaluation.

If the person refuses or fails to appear for evaluation after having been properly notified, a peace officer, counselor in mental health, or a court-appointed official shall take the person into custody and place him in a facility designated by the county as a facility for treatment and evaluation. The person shall be evaluated as promptly as possible, and shall in no event be detained longer than 72 hours under the court order, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays if treatment and evaluation services are not available on those days.

Persons who have been detained for evaluation shall be released, referred for care and treatment on a voluntary basis, certified for intensive treatment, or recommended for conservatorship pursuant to this part, as required.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5207. The order for evaluation shall be in substantially the following form:

In the Superior Court of the State of California

for the County of ________

__________________________________________________

The People of the State of California No. ______

Concerning Order

___________________________________________ and for

_______________________________________________ Evaluation

Respondents or Detention

__________________________________________________

The People of the State of California to ______________________

_________________________________________________________________:

(Peace officer, counselor in mental health, or

other official appointed by the court)

The petition of ____ has been presented this day to me, a Judge of the Superior Court for the County of ____, State of California, from which it appears that there is now in this county, at ____, a person by the name of ____, who is, as a result of mental disorder, a danger to others, or to himself, or gravely disabled.

Now, therefore, you are directed to notify ____ to submit to an evaluation at ____ on the ____ day of ____, 19_, at __ o'clock __m.

____ shall be permitted to be accompanied by one or more of his relatives, friends, an attorney, a personal physician, or other professional or religious advisor.

The individual or individuals who accompany ____ may be present during the evaluation if so requested by ____.

*Provision for Detention for Evaluation

If the person fails or refuses to appear for evaluation when notified by order of this court, you are hereby directed to detain said ____ or cause him to be detained at ____ for a period no longer than 72 hours, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays if evaluation services are not available on those days, for the purposes of evaluation.

I hereby direct that a copy of this order together with a copy of the petition be delivered to said person and his representative, if any, at the time of his notification; and I further authorize the service of this order at any hour of the day or night.

Witness my hand, this ____ day of ____, 19_

___________________________________________________

Judge of the Superior Court

*This paragraph is applicable only if the person to be evaluated fails or refuses to appear for evaluation after having been properly notified.

Return of Order

I hereby certify that I received the above order for the evaluation of ____ and on the ____ day of ____, 19_, personally served a copy of the order and of the petition on ____ and the professional person in charge of the ____, a facility for treatment and evaluation, or his designee.

Dated: ____, 19_.

_______________________________________________

Signature and Title

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5208. As promptly as possible, a copy of the petition and the order for evaluation shall be personally served on the person to be evaluated and the professional person in charge of the facility for treatment and evaluation named in the order, or his designee.

If the person to be evaluated fails to appear for an evaluation at the time designated in the order, the professional person in charge, or his designee, shall notify the person who served the order to have the person to be evaluated detained pursuant to the order.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5210. At the time a person is taken into custody for evaluation, or within a reasonable time thereafter, unless a responsible relative or the guardian or conservator of the person is in possession of the person's personal property, the person taking him into custody shall take reasonable precautions to preserve and safeguard the personal property in the possession of or on the premises occupied by the person. The person taking him into custody shall then furnish to the court a report generally describing the person's property so preserved and safeguarded and its disposition, in substantially the form set forth in Section 5211; except that if a responsible relative or the guardian or conservator of the person is in possession of the person's property, the report shall include only the name of the relative or guardian or conservator and the location of the property, whereupon responsibility of the person taking him into custody for such property shall terminate.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5211. The report of a patient's property required by Section 5210 to be made by the person taking him into custody for evaluation shall be in substantially the following form:

Report of Officer

I hereby report to the Superior Court for the County of _____ that the personal property of the person apprehended, described generally as ____ was preserved and safeguarded by ____ (Insert name of person taking him into custody, responsible relative, guardian, or conservator).

That property is now located at ____.

Dated: _____ 19__.

___________________________________________

Signature and Title

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5212. Whenever possible, persons charged with service of orders and apprehension of persons pursuant to this article shall dress in plain clothes and travel in unmarked vehicles.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5213. (a) If, upon evaluation, the person is found to be in need of treatment because he or she is, as a result of mental disorder, a danger to others, or to himself or herself, or is gravely disabled, he or she may be detained for treatment in a facility for 72-hour treatment and evaluation. Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays may be excluded from the 72-hour period if the State Department of Mental Health certifies for each facility that evaluation and treatment services cannot reasonably be made available on those days. The certification by the department is subject to renewal every two years. The department shall adopt regulations defining criteria for determining whether a facility can reasonably be expected to make evaluation and treatment services available on Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays.

(b) Persons who have been detained for evaluation and treatment, who are receiving medications as a result of their mental illness, shall be given, as soon as possible after detention, written and oral information about the probable effects and possible side effects of the medication, by a person designated by the mental health facility where the person is detained. The State Department of Mental Health shall develop and promulgate written materials on the effects of medications, for use by county mental health programs as disseminated or as modified by the county mental health program, addressing the probable effects and the possible side effects of the medication. The following information shall be given orally to the patient:

(1) The nature of the mental illness, or behavior, that is the reason the medication is being given or recommended.

(2) The likelihood of improving or not improving without the medications.

(3) Reasonable alternative treatments available.

(4) The name and type, frequency, amount, and method of dispensing the medications, and the probable length of time that the medications will be taken.

Article 3. Court-Ordered Evaluation for Persons Impaired by Chronic Alcoholism or Drug Abuse

Welfare and Institutions Code §§ 5225-5230

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5225. Whenever a criminal defendant who appears, as a result of chronic alcoholism or the use of narcotics or restricted dangerous drugs, to be a danger to others, to himself, or to be gravely disabled, is brought before any judge, the judge may order the defendant's evaluation under conditions set forth in this article, provided evaluation services designated in the county plan pursuant to Section 5654 are available.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5226. Such a criminal defendant must be advised of his right to immediately continue with the criminal proceeding, and it is the duty of the judge to apprise the defendant fully of his option and of the consequences which will occur if the defendant chooses the evaluation procedures. The defendant shall have a right to legal counsel at the proceedings at which the choice is made.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5226.1. If a judge issues an order for evaluation under conditions set forth in this article, proceedings on the criminal charge then pending in the court from which the order for evaluation issued shall be dismissed or suspended until such time as the evaluation of the defendant and the subsequent detention of the defendant for involuntary treatment, if any, are completed. Upon completion of such evaluation and detention, if any, the defendant shall, if such criminal charge has not been dismissed, be returned by the sheriff of the county in which the order of evaluation was made, from the evaluation or intensive treatment facility to the custody of the sheriff who shall return the defendant to the court where the order for evaluation was made, and proceedings on the criminal charge shall be resumed or dismissed. If, during evaluation or detention for involuntary treatment, the defendant is recommended for conservatorship, and if the criminal charge has not previously been dismissed, the defendant shall be returned by the sheriff to the court in which such charge is pending for the disposition of the criminal charge prior to the initiation of the conservatorship proceedings. The judge of such court may order such defendant to be detained in the evaluation or treatment facility until the day set for the resumption of the proceedings on the criminal charge.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5227. The order for evaluation shall be in substantially the following form:

In the ________ Court of the State of California

for the County of _________

______________________________________________

The People of the State of California

Concerning No. _______

______________________________________ and Order

__________________________________________ for

Respondents Evaluation

______________________________________________

The People of the State of California to ___________________________ ______________________________________________________________________ _:

(Professional person in charge of the facility providing evaluation)

_____________ has appeared before me and appears to be, as a result

of ___________ (chronic alcoholism, the use of narcotics, or the use

of restricted dangerous drugs), a danger to himself, or others, or

gravely disabled.

Now, therefore, you are directed to evaluate ________ at ________

on the ____ day of ______, 19__, at ___ o'clock __m.

Witness my hand, this ____ day of ______, 19__. _____________________________________

Judge of the ________ Court

Return of Order

I hereby certify that I received the above order for the

evaluation of ______ and on the ____ day of ____, 19_, personally

served a copy of the order and of the petition on the professional

person in charge of the ______, a facility for treatment and

evaluation, or his designee.

Dated: ___________, 19__. _____________________________________

Signature and title

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5228. As promptly as possible, a copy of the order for evaluation shall be personally served on the person to be evaluated and the professional person in charge of the facility for treatment and evaluation named in the order, or his designee.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5229. At the time a person is ordered to undergo evaluation, or within a reasonable time thereafter, unless a responsible relative or the guardian or conservator of the person is in possession of the person's personal property, the person shall take reasonable precautions to preserve and safeguard the personal property in the possession of or on the premises occupied by the person. The person responsible for taking him to the evaluation facility shall then furnish to the court a report generally describing the person's property so preserved and safeguarded and its disposition, in substantially the form set forth in Section 5211; except that if a responsible relative or the guardian or conservator of the person is in possession of the person's property, the report shall include only the name of the relative or guardian or conservator and the location of the property, whereupon responsibility of the person responsible for taking him to the evaluation facility for such property shall terminate.

As used in this section, "responsible relative" includes the spouse, parent, adult child, or adult brother or sister of the person.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5230. If, upon evaluation, the person is found to be in need of treatment because he is, as a result of impairment by chronic alcoholism or the use of narcotics or restricted dangerous drugs, a danger to others, or to himself, or is gravely disabled, he may be detained for treatment in a facility for 72-hour treatment and evaluation. Except as provided in this section, he shall in no event be detained longer than 72 hours from the time of evaluation or detention for evaluation, excluding Saturdays, Sundays and holidays if treatment services are not available on those days.

Persons who have been detained for evaluation and treatment shall be released if the criminal charge has been dismissed; released to the custody of the sheriff or continue to be detained pursuant to court order under Section 5226.1; referred for further care and treatment on a voluntary basis, subject to the disposition of the criminal action; certified for intensive treatment; or recommended for conservatorship pursuant to this part, subject to the disposition of the criminal charge; as required.

Article 4. Certification for Intensive Treatment

Welfare and Institutions Code §§ 5250-5259.3

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5250. If a person is detained for 72 hours under the provisions of Article 1 (commencing with Section 5150), or under court order for evaluation pursuant to Article 2 (commencing with Section 5200) or Article 3 (commencing with Section 5225) and has received an evaluation, he or she may be certified for not more than 14 days of intensive treatment related to the mental disorder or impairment by chronic alcoholism, under the following conditions:

(a) The professional staff of the agency or facility providing evaluation services has analyzed the person's condition and has found the person is, as a result of mental disorder or impairment by chronic alcoholism, a danger to others, or to himself or herself, or gravely disabled.

(b) The facility providing intensive treatment is designated by the county to provide intensive treatment, and agrees to admit the person. No facility shall be designated to provide intensive treatment unless it complies with the certification review hearing required by this article. The procedures shall be described in the county Short-Doyle plan as required by Section 5651.3.

(c) The person has been advised of the need for, but has not been willing or able to accept, treatment on a voluntary basis.

(d) (1) Notwithstanding paragraph (1) of subdivision (h) of Section 5008, a person is not "gravely disabled" if that person can survive safely without involuntary detention with the help of responsible family, friends, or others who are both willing and able to help provide for the person's basic personal needs for food, clothing, or shelter.

(2) However, unless they specifically indicate in writing their willingness and ability to help, family, friends, or others shall not be considered willing or able to provide this help.

(3) The purpose of this subdivision is to avoid the necessity for, and the harmful effects of, requiring family, friends, and others to publicly state, and requiring the certification review officer to publicly find, that no one is willing or able to assist the mentally disordered person in providing for the person's basic needs for food, clothing, or shelter.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5250.1. The professional person in charge of a facility providing intensive treatment, pursuant to Section 5250 or 5270.15, or that person's designee, shall notify the county mental health director, or the director's designee, and the peace officer who made the original written application for 72-hour evaluation pursuant to Section 5150 or a person who is designated by the law enforcement agency that employs the peace officer, that the person admitted pursuant to the application has been released unconditionally if all of the following conditions apply:

(a) The peace officer has requested notification at the time he or she makes the application for 72-hour evaluation.

(b) The peace officer has certified in writing at the time he or she made the application that the person has been referred to the facility under circumstances which, based upon an allegation of facts regarding actions witnessed by the officer or another person, would support the filing of a criminal complaint.

(c) The notice is limited to the person's name, address, date of admission for 72-hour evaluation, date of certification for intensive treatment, and date of release.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5251. For a person to be certified under this article, a notice of certification shall be signed by two people. The first person shall be the professional person, or his or her designee, in charge of the agency or facility providing evaluation services. A designee of the professional person in charge of the agency or facility shall be a physician or a licensed psychologist who has a doctoral degree in psychology and at least five years of postgraduate experience in the diagnosis and treatment of emotional and mental disorders.

The second person shall be a physician or psychologist who participated in the evaluation. The physician shall be, if possible, a board certified psychiatrist. The psychologist shall be licensed and have at least five years of postgraduate experience in the diagnosis and treatment of emotional and mental disorders.

If the professional person in charge, or his or her designee, is the physician who performed the medical evaluation or a psychologist, the second person to sign may be another physician or psychologist unless one is not available, in which case a licensed clinical social worker or a registered nurse who participated in the evaluation shall sign the notice of certification.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5252. A notice of certification is required for all persons certified for intensive treatment pursuant to Section 5250 or 5270.15, and shall be in substantially the following form (strike out inapplicable section):

The authorized agency providing evaluation services in the

County of _________ has evaluated the condition of:

Name _____________________________________________________

Address __________________________________________________

Age ___________________

Sex ___________________

Marital status ______________________

We the undersigned allege that the above-named person

is, as a result of mental disorder or impairment by

chronic alcoholism:

(1) A danger to others.

(2) A danger to himself or herself.

(3) Gravely disabled as defined in paragraph (1) of

subdivision (h) or subdivision (l) of Section 5008 of

the Welfare and Institutions Code.

The specific facts which form the basis for our opinion

that the above-named person meets one or more of the

classifications indicated above are as follows:

(certifying persons to fill in blanks) ______________________

_____________________________________________________________

(Strike out all inapplicable classifications.)

The above-named person has been informed of this

evaluation, and has been advised of the need for, but has

not been able or willing to accept treatment on a

voluntary basis, or to accept referral to, the following

services:

_____________________________________________________________

We, therefore, certify the above-named person to receive

intensive treatment related to the mental disorder or

impairment by chronic alcoholism beginning this _____ day of

___________, 19__, in the intensive treatment facility herein

(Month)

named _____________________.

___________________________

(Date)

Signed ______________________________________________________

Countersigned _______________________________________________

(Representing facility)

I hereby state that I delivered a copy of this notice this

day to the above-named person and that I informed him or her

that unless judicial review is requested a certification

review hearing will be held within four days of the date on

which the person is certified for a period of intensive

treatment and that an attorney or advocate will visit him or

her to provide assistance in preparing for the hearing or to

answer questions regarding his or her commitment or to provide

other assistance. The court has been notified of this

certification on this day.

Signed _________________________

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5253. A copy of the certification notice shall be personally delivered to the person certified, the person's attorney, or the attorney or advocate designated in Section 5252. The person certified shall also be asked to designate any person who is to be sent a copy of the certification notice. If the person certified is incapable of making this designation at the time of certification, he or she shall be asked to designate a person as soon as he or she is capable.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5254. The person delivering the copy of the notice of certification to the person certified shall, at the time of delivery, inform the person certified that he or she is entitled to a certification review hearing, to be held within four days of the date on which the person is certified for a period of intensive treatment in accordance with Section 5256 unless judicial review is requested, to determine whether or not probable cause exists to detain the person for intensive treatment related to the mental disorder or impairment by chronic alcoholism. The person certified shall be informed of his or her rights with respect to the hearing, including the right to the assistance of another person to prepare for the hearing or to answer other questions and concerns regarding his or her involuntary detention or both.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5254.1. The person delivering the copy of the notice of certification to the person certified shall, at the time of delivery, inform the person certified of his or her legal right to a judicial review by habeas corpus, and shall explain that term to the person certified, and inform the person of his or her right to counsel, including court-appointed counsel pursuant to Section 5276.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5255. As soon after the certification as practicable, an attorney or patient advocate shall meet with the person certified to discuss the commitment process and to assist the person in preparing for the certification review hearing or to answer questions or otherwise assist the person as is appropriate.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5256. When a person is certified for intensive treatment pursuant to Sections 5250 and 5270.15, a certification review hearing shall be held unless judicial review has been requested as provided in Sections 5275 and 5276. The certification review hearing shall be within four days of the date on which the person is certified for a period of intensive treatment unless postponed by request of the person or his or her attorney or advocate. Hearings may be postponed for 48 hours or, in counties with a population of 100,000 or less, until the next regularly scheduled hearing date.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5256.1. The certification review hearing shall be conducted by either a court-appointed commissioner or a referee, or a certification review hearing officer. The certification review hearing officer shall be either a state qualified administrative law hearing officer, a medical doctor, a licensed psychologist, a registered nurse, a lawyer, a certified law student, a licensed clinical social worker, or a licensed marriage and family therapist. Licensed psychologists, licensed clinical social workers, licensed marriage and family therapists, and registered nurses who serve as certification review hearing officers shall have had a minimum of five years' experience in mental health. Certification review hearing officers shall be selected from a list of eligible persons unanimously approved by a panel composed of the local mental health director, the county public defender, and the county counsel or district attorney designated by the county board of supervisors. No employee of the county mental health program or of any facility designated by the county and approved by the State Department of Mental Health as a facility for 72-hour treatment and evaluation may serve as a certification review hearing officer.

The location of the certification review hearing shall be compatible with, and least disruptive of, the treatment being provided to the person certified. In addition, hearings conducted by certification review officers shall be conducted at an appropriate place at the facility where the person certified is receiving treatment.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5256.2. At the certification review hearing, the evidence in support of the certification decision shall be presented by a person designated by the director of the facility. In addition, either the district attorney or the county counsel may, at his or her discretion, elect to present evidence at the certification review hearing.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5256.3. The person certified shall be present at the certification review hearing unless he or she, with the assistance of his or her attorney or advocate, waives his or her right to be present at a hearing.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5256.4. (a) At the certification review hearing, the person certified shall have the following rights:

(1) Assistance by an attorney or advocate.

(2) To present evidence on his or her own behalf.

(3) To question persons presenting evidence in support of the certification decision.

(4) To make reasonable requests for the attendance of facility employees who have knowledge of, or participated in, the certification decision.

(5) If the person has received medication within 24 hours or such longer period of time as the person conducting the hearing may designate prior to the beginning of the hearing, the person conducting the hearing shall be informed of that fact and of the probable effects of the medication.

(b) The hearing shall be conducted in an impartial and informal manner in order to encourage free and open discussion by participants. The person conducting the hearing shall not be bound by rules of procedure or evidence applicable in judicial proceedings.

(c) Reasonable attempts shall be made by the mental health facility to notify family members or any other person designated by the patient, of the time and place of the certification hearing, unless the patient requests that this information not be provided. The patient shall be advised by the facility that is treating the patient that he or she has the right to request that this information not be provided.

(d) All evidence which is relevant to establishing that the person certified is or is not as a result of mental disorder or impairment by chronic alcoholism, a danger to others, or to himself or herself, or gravely disabled, shall be admitted at the hearing and considered by the hearing officer.

(e) Although resistance to involuntary commitment may be a product of a mental disorder, this resistance shall not, in itself, imply the presence of a mental disorder or constitute evidence that a person meets the criteria of being dangerous to self or others, or gravely disabled.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5256.5. If at the conclusion of the certification review hearing the person conducting the hearing finds that there is not probable cause to believe that the person certified is, as a result of a mental disorder or impairment by chronic alcoholism, a danger to others, or to himself or herself, or gravely disabled, then the person certified may no longer be involuntarily detained. Nothing herein shall prohibit the person from remaining at the facility on a voluntary basis or the facility from providing the person with appropriate referral information concerning mental health services.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5256.6. If at the conclusion of the certification review hearing the person conducting the hearing finds that there is probable cause that the person certified is, as a result of a mental disorder or impairment by chronic alcoholism, a danger to others, or to himself or herself, or gravely disabled, then the person may be detained for involuntary care, protection, and treatment related to the mental disorder or impairment by chronic alcoholism pursuant to Sections 5250 and 5270.15.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5256.7. The person certified shall be given oral notification of the decision at the conclusion of the certification review hearing. As soon thereafter as is practicable, the attorney or advocate for the person certified and the director of the facility where the person is receiving treatment shall be provided with a written notification of the decision, which shall include a statement of the evidence relied upon and the reasons for the decision. The attorney or advocate shall notify the person certified of the certification review hearing decision and of his or her rights to file a request for release and to have a hearing on the request before the superior court as set forth in Article 5 (commencing with Section 5275). A copy of the decision and the certification made pursuant to Section 5250 or 5270.15 shall be submitted to the superior court.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5256.8. The requirement that there is a certification review hearing in accordance with this article shall apply only to persons certified for intensive treatment on or after January 1, 1983.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5257. (a) During the period of intensive treatment pursuant to Section 5250 or 5270.15, the person's involuntary detention shall be terminated and the person shall be released only if the psychiatrist directly responsible for the person's treatment believes, as a result of the psychiatrist's personal observations, that the person certified no longer is, as a result of mental disorder or impairment by chronic alcoholism, a danger to others, or to himself or herself, or gravely disabled. However, in those situations in which both a psychiatrist and psychologist have personally evaluated or examined a person who is undergoing intensive treatment and there is a collaborative treatment relationship between the psychiatrist and the psychologist, either the psychiatrist or psychologist may authorize the release of the person, but only after they have consulted with one another. In the event of a clinical or professional disagreement regarding the early release of a person who is undergoing intensive treatment, the person may not be released unless the facility's medical director overrules the decision of the psychiatrist or psychologist opposing the release. Both the psychiatrist and psychologist shall enter their findings, concerns, or objections into the person's medical record. If any other professional person who is authorized to release the person believes the person should be released during the designated period of intensive treatment, and the psychiatrist directly responsible for the person's treatment objects, the matter shall be referred to the medical director of the facility for the final decision. However, if the medical director is not a psychiatrist, he or she shall appoint a designee who is a psychiatrist. If the matter is referred, the person shall be released during the period of intensive treatment only if the psychiatrist making the final decision believes, as a result of the psychiatrist's personal observations, that the person certified no longer is, as a result of mental disorder or impairment by chronic alcoholism, a danger to others, or to himself or herself, or gravely disabled. Nothing herein shall prohibit the person from remaining at the facility on a voluntary basis or prevent the facility from providing the person with appropriate referral information concerning mental health services.

(b) A person who has been certified for a period of intensive treatment pursuant to Section 5250 shall be released at the end of 14 days unless the patient either:

(1) Agrees to receive further treatment on a voluntary basis.

(2) Is certified for an additional 14 days of intensive treatment pursuant to Article 4.5 (commencing with Section 5260).

(3) Is certified for an additional 30 days of intensive treatment pursuant to Article 4.7 (commencing with Section 5270.10).

(4) Is the subject of a conservatorship petition filed pursuant to Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 5350).

(5) Is the subject of a petition for postcertification treatment of a dangerous person filed pursuant to Article 6 (commencing with Section 5300).

(c) The amendments to this section made by Assembly Bill 348 of the 2003-04 Regular Session shall not be construed to revise or expand the scope of practice of psychologists, as defined in Chapter 6.6 (commencing with Section 2900) of Division 2 of the Business and Professions Code.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5258. After the involuntary detention has begun, the total period of detention, including intervening periods of voluntary treatment, shall not exceed the total maximum period during which the person could have been detained, if the person had been detained continuously on an involuntary basis, from the time of initial involuntary detention.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5259. Nothing in this article shall prohibit the professional person in charge of a treatment facility, or his or her designee, from permitting a person certified for intensive treatment to leave the facility for short periods during the person's involuntary additional treatment.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5259.1. Any individual who is knowingly and willfully responsible for detaining a person in violation of the provisions of this article is liable to that person in civil damages.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5259.2. Whenever a county designates two or more facilities to provide treatment, and the person to be treated, his or her family, conservator, or guardian expresses a preference for one of these facilities, the professional person certifying the person to be treated shall attempt, if administratively possible, to comply with the preference.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5259.3. (a) Notwithstanding Section 5113, if the provisions of Section 5257 have been met, the professional person in charge of the facility providing intensive treatment, his or her designee, the medical director of the facility or his or her designee described in Section 5257, the psychiatrist directly responsible for the person's treatment, or the psychologist shall not be held civilly or criminally liable for any action by a person released before the end of 14 days pursuant to this article.

(b) The professional person in charge of the facility providing intensive treatment, his or her designee, the medical director of the facility or his or her designee described in Section 5257, the psychiatrist directly responsible for the person's treatment, or the psychologist shall not be held civilly or criminally liable for any action by a person released at the end of the 14 days pursuant to this article.

(c) The attorney or advocate representing the person, the court-appointed commissioner or referee, the certification review hearing officer conducting the certification review hearing, and the peace officer responsible for the detainment of the person shall not be civilly or criminally liable for any action by a person released at or before the end of 14 days pursuant to this article.

Article 4.5 Additional Intensive Treatment of Suicidal Persons

Welfare and Institutions Code §§ 5260-5268

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5260. At the expiration of the 14-day period of intensive treatment any person who, as a result of mental disorder or impairment by chronic alcoholism, during the 14-day period or the 72-hour evaluation period, threatened or attempted to take his own life or who was detained for evaluation and treatment because he threatened or attempted to take his own life and who continues to present an imminent threat of taking his own life, may be confined for further intensive treatment pursuant to this article for an additional period not to exceed 14 days.

Such further intensive treatment may occur only under the following conditions:

(a) The professional staff of the agency or facility providing intensive treatment services has analyzed the person's condition and has found that the person presents an imminent threat of taking his own life.

(b) The person has been advised of, but has not accepted, voluntary treatment.

(c) The facility providing additional intensive treatment is equipped and staffed to provide treatment, is designated by the county to provide such intensive treatment, and agrees to admit the person.

(d) The person has, as a result of mental disorder or impairment by chronic alcoholism, threatened or attempted to take his own life during the 14-day period of intensive treatment or the 72-hour evaluation period or was detained for evaluation and treatment because he threatened or attempted to take his own life.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5261. For a person to be certified under this article, a second notice of certification must be signed by the professional person in charge of the facility providing 14-day intensive treatment under Article 4 (commencing with Section 5250) to the person and by a physician, if possible a board-qualified psychiatrist or a licensed psychologist who has a doctoral degree in psychology and at least five years of postgraduate experience in the diagnosis and treatment of emotional and mental disorders. The physician or psychologist who signs shall have participated in the evaluation and finding referred to in subdivision (a) of Section 5260.

If the professional person in charge is the physician who performed the medical evaluation and finding or a psychologist, the second person to sign may be another physician or psychologist unless one is not available, in which case a social worker or a registered nurse who participated in such evaluation and finding shall sign the notice of certification.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5262. A second notice of certification for imminently suicidal persons is required for all involuntary 14-day intensive treatment, pursuant to this article, and shall be in substantially the following form:

To the Superior Court of the State of California

for the County of ________

The authorized agency providing 14-day intensive treatment, County of _______, has custody of: ______ Name __________________________________________________ Address _______________________________________________ Age ________________ Sex ________________ Marital status ______________________ Religious affiliation _______________

The undersigned allege that the above-named person presents an imminent threat of taking his own life.

This allegation is based upon the following facts: _______________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________

This allegation is supported by the accompanying affidavits signed by ______________.

The above-named person has been informed of this allegation and has been advised of, but has not been able or willing to accept referral to, the following services: _______________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________ _______________________________________________________

We, therefore, certify the above-named person to receive additional intensive treatment for no more than 14 days beginning this _____ day of _________, 19__, in

(Month) the intensive treatment facility herein named _________.

We hereby state that a copy of this notice has been delivered this day to the above-named person and that he has been clearly advised of his continuing legal right to a judicial review by habeas corpus, and this term has been explained to him.

_______________________

(Date) Signed _________________________________ Countersigned _________________________________________

Representing intensive treatment facility

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5263. Copies of the second notice of certification for imminently suicidal persons, as set forth in Section 5262, shall be filed with the court and personally delivered to the person certified. A copy shall also be sent to the person's attorney, to the district attorney, to the public defender, if any, and to the facility providing intensive treatment.

The person certified shall also be asked to designate any person who is to be sent a copy of the certification notice. If the person certified is incapable of making such a designation at the time of certification, he or she shall be asked to designate such person as soon as he or she is capable.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5264. (a) A certification for imminently suicidal persons shall be for no more than 14 days of intensive treatment, and shall terminate only as soon as the psychiatrist directly responsible for the person' s treatment believes, as a result of the psychiatrist's personal observations, that the person has improved sufficiently for him or her to leave, or is prepared to voluntarily accept treatment on referral or to remain on a voluntary basis in the facility providing intensive treatment. However, in those situations in which both a psychiatrist and psychologist have personally evaluated or examined a person who is undergoing intensive treatment and there is a collaborative treatment relationship between the psychiatrist and psychologist, either the psychiatrist or psychologist may authorize the release of the person, but only after they have consulted with one another. In the event of a clinical or professional disagreement regarding the early release of a person who is undergoing intensive treatment, the person may not be released unless the facility's medical director overrules the decision of the psychiatrist or psychologist opposing the release. Both the psychiatrist and psychologist shall enter their findings, concerns, or objections into the person's medical record. If any other professional person who is authorized to release the person believes the person should be released before 14 days have elapsed, and the psychiatrist directly responsible for the person's treatment objects, the matter shall be referred to the medical director of the facility for the final decision. However, if the medical director is not a psychiatrist, he or she shall appoint a designee who is a psychiatrist. If the matter is referred, the person shall be released before 14 days have elapsed only if the psychiatrist believes, as a result of the psychiatrist's personal observations, that the person has improved sufficiently for him or her to leave, or is prepared to accept voluntary treatment on referral or to remain in the facility providing intensive treatment on a voluntary basis.

(b) Any person who has been certified for 14 days of intensive treatment under this article and to whom Section 5226.1 is not applicable, or with respect to whom the criminal charge has been dismissed under Section 5226.1, shall be released at the end of the 14 days unless any of the following applies:

(1) The patient agrees to receive further treatment on a voluntary basis.

(2) The patient has been recommended for conservatorship pursuant to Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 5350).

(3) The patient is a person to whom Article 6 (commencing with Section 5300) of this chapter is applicable.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5265. Any individual who is knowingly and willfully responsible for detaining a person for more than 14 days in violation of the provisions of Section 5264 is liable to that person in civil damages.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5266. Whenever a county designates two or more facilities to provide intensive treatment and the person to be treated, his family, conservator or guardian expresses a preference for one such facility, the professional person certifying the person to be treated shall attempt, if administratively possible, to comply with the preference.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5267. (a) Notwithstanding Section 5113, if the provisions of Section 5264 have been met, the professional person in charge of the facility providing intensive treatment, his or her designee, the medical director of the facility or his or her designee described in Section 5264, the psychiatrist directly responsible for the person's treatment, or the psychologist shall not be held civilly or criminally liable for any action by a person released before the end of 14 days pursuant to this article.

(b) The professional person in charge of the facility providing intensive treatment, his or her designee, the medical director of the facility or his or her designee described in Section 5264, the psychiatrist directly responsible for the person's treatment, or the psychologist shall not be held civilly or criminally liable for any action by a person released at the end of 14 days pursuant to this article.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5268. Nothing in this article shall prohibit the professional person in charge of an intensive treatment facility, or his designee, from permitting a person certified for intensive treatment to leave the facility for short periods during the person's involuntary intensive treatment.

Article 4.7 Additional Intensive Treatment

Welfare and Institutions Code §§ 5270.10-5270.65

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5270.10. It is the intent of the Legislature to reduce the number of gravely disabled persons for whom conservatorship petitions are filed and who are placed under the extensive powers and authority of a temporary conservator simply to obtain an additional period of treatment without the belief that a conservator is actually needed and without the intention of proceeding to trial on the conservatorship petition. This change will substantially reduce the number of conservatorship petitions filed and temporary conservatorships granted under this part which do not result in either a trial or a conservatorship.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5270.12. This article shall be operative only in those counties in which the county board of supervisors, by resolution, authorizes its application and, by resolution, makes a finding that any additional costs incurred by the county in the implementation of this article are funded either by new funding sufficient to cover the costs incurred by the county resulting from this article, or funds redirected from cost savings resulting from this article, or a combination thereof, so that no current service reductions will occur as a result of the enactment of this article. Compliance with this section shall be monitored by the Department of Mental Health as part of their review and approval of county Short-Doyle plans.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5270.15. Upon the completion of a 14-day period of intensive treatment pursuant to Section 5250, the person may be certified for an additional period of not more than 30 days of intensive treatment under both of the following conditions:

(a) The professional staff of the agency or facility treating the person has found that the person remains gravely disabled as a result of a mental disorder or impairment by chronic alcoholism.

(b) The person remains unwilling or unable to accept treatment voluntarily.

Any person certified for an additional 30 days pursuant to this article shall be provided a certification review hearing in accordance with Section 5256 unless a judicial review is requested pursuant to Article 5 (commencing with Section 5275).

The professional staff of the agency or facility providing intensive treatment shall analyze the person's condition at intervals of not to exceed 10 days, to determine whether the person continues to meet the criteria established for certification under this section, and shall daily monitor the person's treatment plan and progress. Termination of this certification prior to the 30th day shall be made pursuant to Section 5270.35.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5270.20. For a person to be certified under this article, a second notice of certification shall be signed by the professional person in charge of the facility providing intensive treatment to the person and by either a physician who shall, if possible, be a board-qualified psychiatrist, or a licensed psychologist who has a doctoral degree in psychology and at least five years of postgraduate experience in the diagnosis and treatment of emotional and mental disorders. The physician or psychologist who signs shall have participated in the evaluation and finding referred to in subdivision (a) of Section 5270.15.

If the professional person in charge is the physician who performed the medical evaluation and finding, or a psychologist, the second person to sign may be another physician or psychologist, unless one is not available, in which case a social worker or a registered nurse who participated in the evaluation and finding shall sign the notice of certification.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5270.25. A second notice of certification is required for all involuntary intensive treatment, pursuant to this article, and shall be in substantially the form indicated in Section 5252.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5270.30. Copies of the second notice of certification as set forth in Section 5270.25, shall be filed with the court and personally delivered to the person certified. A copy shall also be sent to the person's attorney, to the district attorney, to the public defender, if any, and to the facility providing intensive treatment.

The person certified shall also be asked to designate any individual who is to be sent a copy of the certification notice. If the person certified is incapable of making the designation at the time of certification, that person shall be given another opportunity to designate when able to do so.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5270.35. (a) A certification pursuant to this article shall be for no more than 30 days of intensive treatment, and shall terminate only as soon as the psychiatrist directly responsible for the person's treatment believes, as a result of the psychiatrist's personal observations, that the person no longer meets the criteria for the certification, or is prepared to voluntarily accept treatment on a referral basis or to remain on a voluntary basis in the facility providing intensive treatment. However, in those situations in which both a psychiatrist and psychologist have personally evaluated or examined a person who is undergoing intensive treatment and there is a collaborative treatment relationship between the psychiatrist and the psychologist, either the psychiatrist or psychologist may authorize the release of the person but only after they have consulted with one another. In the event of a clinical or professional disagreement regarding the early release of a person who is undergoing intensive treatment, the person may not be released unless the facility's medical director overrules the decision of the psychiatrist or psychologist opposing the release. Both the psychiatrist and psychologist shall enter their findings, concerns, or objections into the person's medical record. If any other professional person who is authorized to release the person believes the person should be released before 30 days have elapsed, and the psychiatrist directly responsible for the person's treatment objects, the matter shall be referred to the medical director of the facility for the final decision. However, if the medical director is not a psychiatrist, he or she shall appoint a designee who is a psychiatrist. If the matter is referred, the person shall be released before 30 days have elapsed only if the psychiatrist believes, as a result of the psychiatrist's personal observations, that the person no longer meets the criteria for certification, or is prepared to voluntarily accept treatment on referral or to remain on a voluntary basis in the facility providing intensive treatment.

(b) Any person who has been certified for 30 days of intensive treatment under this article, shall be released at the end of 30 days unless one or more of the following is applicable:

(1) The patient agrees to receive further treatment on a voluntary basis.

(2) The patient is the subject of a conservatorship petition filed pursuant to Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 5350).

(3) The patient is the subject of a petition for postcertification treatment of a dangerous person filed pursuant to Article 6 (commencing with Section 5300).

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5270.40. Any individual who is knowingly and willfully responsible for detaining a person for more than 30 days in violation of the provisions of Section 5270.35 is liable to that person in civil damages.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5270.45. Whenever a county designates two or more facilities to provide intensive treatment and the person to be treated, his or her family, conservator, or guardian expresses a preference for one facility, the professional person certifying the person to be treated shall attempt, if administratively possible, to comply with the preference.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5270.50. Notwithstanding Section 5113, if the provisions of Section 5270.35 have been met, the professional person in charge of the facility providing intensive treatment, his or her designee, and the professional person directly responsible for the person's treatment shall not be held civilly or criminally liable for any action by a person released before or at the end of 30 days pursuant to this article.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5270.55. (a) Whenever it is contemplated that a gravely disabled person may need to be detained beyond the end of the 14-day period of intensive treatment and prior to proceeding with an additional 30-day certification, the professional person in charge of the facility shall cause an evaluation to be made, based on the patient's current condition and past history, as to whether it appears that the person, even after up to 30 days of additional treatment, is likely to qualify for appointment of a conservator. If the appointment of a conservator appears likely, the conservatorship referral shall be made during the 14-day period of intensive treatment.

(b) If it appears that with up to 30 days additional treatment a person is likely to reconstitute sufficiently to obviate the need for appointment of a conservator, then the person may be certified for the additional 30 days.

(c) Where no conservatorship referral has been made during the 14-day period and where during the 30-day certification it appears that the person is likely to require the appointment of a conservator, then the conservatorship referral shall be made to allow sufficient time for conservatorship investigation and other related procedures. If a temporary conservatorship is obtained, it shall run concurrently with and not consecutively to the 30-day certification period. The conservatorship hearing shall be held by the 30th day of the certification period. The maximum involuntary detention period for gravely disabled persons pursuant to Sections 5150, 5250 and 5270.15 shall be limited to 47 days. Nothing in this section shall prevent a person from exercising his or her right to a hearing as stated in Sections 5275 and 5353.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5270.65. Nothing in this article shall prohibit the professional person in charge of an intensive treatment facility, or a designee, from permitting a person certified for intensive treatment to leave the facility for short periods during the person's intensive treatment.

Article 5 Judicial Review

Welfare and Institutions Code §§ 5275-5278

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5275. Every person detained by certification for intensive treatment shall have a right to a hearing by writ of habeas corpus for his or her release after he or she or any person acting on his or her behalf has made a request for release to either (a) the person delivering the copy of the notice of certification to the person certified at the time of the delivery, or (b) to any member of the treatment staff of the facility providing intensive treatment, at any time during the period of intensive treatment pursuant to Section Welfare and Institutions Code § 5250, 5260, or 5270.10.

Any person delivering a copy of the certification notice or any member of the treatment staff to whom a request for release is made shall promptly provide the person making the request for his or her signature or mark a copy of the form set forth below. The person delivering the copy of the certification notice or the member of the treatment staff, as the case may be, shall fill in his or her own name and the date, and, if the person signs by mark, shall fill in the person's name, and shall then deliver the completed copy to the professional person in charge of the intensive treatment facility, or his or her designee, notifying him or her of the request. As soon as possible, the person notified shall inform the superior court for the county in which the facility is located of the request for release.

Any person who intentionally violates this section is guilty of a misdemeanor.

The form for a request for release shall be substantially as follows:

(Name of the facility) ___ day of ____ 19__

I, ____ (member of the treatment staff, or person delivering the copy of the certification notice), have today received a request for the release of ____ (name of patient) from the undersigned patient on his or her own behalf or from the undersigned person on behalf of the patient.

________________________________________

Signature or mark of patient making

request for release

________________________________________

Signature or mark of person making

request on behalf of patient

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5276. Judicial review shall be in the superior court for the county in which the facility providing intensive treatment is located or in the county in which the 72-hour evaluation was conducted if the patient or a person acting in his or her behalf informs the professional staff of the evaluation facility (in writing) that judicial review will be sought. No patient shall be transferred from the county providing evaluation services to a different county for intensive treatment if the staff of the evaluation facility has been informed in writing that a judicial review will be sought, until the completion of the judicial review. The person requesting to be released shall be informed of his or her right to counsel by the member of the treatment staff and by the court; and, if he or she so elects, the court shall immediately appoint the public defender or other attorney to assist him or her in preparation of a petition for the writ of habeas corpus and, if he or she so elects, to represent him or her in the proceedings. The person shall pay the costs of the legal service if he or she is able.

Reasonable attempts shall be made by the mental health facility to notify family members or any other person designated by the patient, of the time and place of the judicial review, unless the patient requests that this information not be provided. The patient shall be advised by the facility that is treating the patient that he or she has the right to request that this information not be provided.

The court shall either release the person or order an evidentiary hearing to be held within two judicial days after the petition is filed. If the court finds, (a) that the person requesting release is not, as a result of mental disorder or impairment by chronic alcoholism, a danger to others, or to himself or herself, or gravely disabled, (b) that he or she had not been advised of, or had accepted, voluntary treatment, or (c) that the facility providing intensive treatment is not equipped and staffed to provide treatment, or is not designated by the county to provide intensive treatment he or she shall be released immediately.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5276.1. The person requesting release may, upon advice of counsel, waive the presence at the evidentiary hearing of the physician, licensed psychologist who meets the requirements of the first paragraph of Section 5251, or other professional person who certified the petition under Section 5251 and of the physician, or licensed psychologist who meets the requirements of the second paragraph of Section 5251, providing intensive treatment. In the event of such a waiver, such physician, licensed psychologist, or other professional person shall not be required to be present at the hearing if it is stipulated that the certification and records of such physicians, licensed psychologists, or other professional persons concerning the mental condition and treatment of the person regarding release will be received in evidence.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5276.2. In the event that the person, or anyone acting on his or her behalf, withdraws the request for judicial review, a certification review hearing shall be held within four days of the withdrawal of the request, and the procedures in Sections 5255 to Welfare and Institutions Code § 5256.8, inclusive, shall be applicable.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5277. A finding under Section 5276 shall not be admissible in evidence in any civil or criminal proceeding without the consent of the person who was the subject of the finding.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5278. Individuals authorized under this part to detain a person for 72-hour treatment and evaluation pursuant to Article 1 (commencing with Section 5150) or Article 2 (commencing with Section 5200), or to certify a person for intensive treatment pursuant to Article 4 (commencing with Section 5250) or Article 4.5 (commencing with Section 5260) or Article 4.7 (commencing with Section 5270.10) or to file a petition for post-certification treatment for a person pursuant to Article 6 (commencing with Section 5300) shall not be held either criminally or civilly liable for exercising this authority in accordance with the law.

Article 6. Postcertification Procedures for Imminently Dangerous Persons

Welfare and Institutions Code §§ 5300-5309

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5300. At the expiration of the 14-day period of intensive treatment, a person may be confined for further treatment pursuant to the provisions of this article for an additional period, not to exceed 180 days if one of the following exists:

(a) The person has attempted, inflicted, or made a serious threat of substantial physical harm upon the person of another after having been taken into custody, and while in custody, for evaluation and treatment, and who, as a result of mental disorder or mental defect, presents a demonstrated danger of inflicting substantial physical harm upon others.

(b) The person had attempted, or inflicted physical harm upon the person of another, that act having resulted in his or her being taken into custody and who presents, as a result of mental disorder or mental defect, a demonstrated danger of inflicting substantial physical harm upon others.

(c) The person had made a serious threat of substantial physical harm upon the person of another within seven days of being taken into custody, that threat having at least in part resulted in his or her being taken into custody, and the person presents, as a result of mental disorder or mental defect, a demonstrated danger of inflicting substantial physical harm upon others.

Any commitment to a licensed health facility under this article places an affirmative obligation on the facility to provide treatment for the underlying causes of the person's mental disorder.

Amenability to treatment is not required for a finding that any person is a person as described in subdivisions (a), (b), or (c). Treatment programs need only be made available to these persons. Treatment does not mean that the treatment be successful or potentially successful, and it does not mean that the person must recognize his or her problem and willingly participate in the treatment program.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5300.5. For purposes of this article:

(a) "Custody" shall be construed to mean involuntary detainment under the provisions of this part uninterrupted by any period of unconditioned release from a licensed health facility providing involuntary care and treatment.

(b) Conviction of a crime is not necessary for commitment under this article.

(c) Demonstrated danger may be based on assessment of present mental condition, which is based upon a consideration of past behavior of the person within six years prior to the time the person attempted, inflicted, or threatened physical harm upon another, and other relevant evidence.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5301. At any time during the 14-day intensive treatment period the professional person in charge of the licensed health facility, or his or her designee, may ask the public officer required by Section 5114 to present evidence at proceedings under this article to petition the superior court in the county in which the licensed health facility providing treatment is located for an order requiring such person to undergo an additional period of treatment on the grounds set forth in Section 5300. Such petition shall summarize the facts which support the contention that the person falls within the standard set forth in Section 5300. The petition shall be supported by affidavits describing in detail the behavior which indicates that the person falls within the standard set forth in Section 5300.

Copies of the petition for postcertification treatment and the affidavits in support thereof shall be served upon the person named in the petition on the same day as they are filed with the clerk of the superior court.

The petition shall be in the following form:

Petition for Postcertification Treatment of a Dangerous Person

I, ____, (the professional person in charge of the ____ intensive treatment facility) (the designee of ____ the professional person in charge of the ____, treatment facility) in which ____ has been under treatment pursuant to the certification by ____ and ____, hereby petition the court for an order requiring ____ to undergo an additional period of treatment, not to exceed 180 days, pursuant to the provisions of Article 6 (commencing with Section 5300) of Chapter 2 of Part 1 of Division 5 of the Welfare and Institutions Code. Such petition is based upon my allegation that (a) ____ has attempted, inflicted, or made a serious threat of substantial physical harm upon the person of another after having been taken into custody, and while in custody, for evaluation, and that, by reason of mental disorder or mental defect, presents a demonstrated danger of inflicting substantial physical harm upon others, or that (b) ____ had attempted or inflicted physical harm upon the person of another, that act having resulted in his or her being taken into custody, and that he or she presents, as a result of mental disorder or mental defect, a demonstrated danger of inflicting substantial physical harm upon others, or that (c) ____ had made a serious threat of substantial physical harm upon the person of another within seven days of being taken into custody, that threat having at least in part resulted in his or her being taken into custody, and that he or she presents, as a result of mental disorder or mental defect, a demonstrated danger of inflicting substantial physical harm upon others.

My allegation is based upon the following facts:

___________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________

This allegation is supported by the accompanying affidavits signed by ____________.

Signed __________________

The courts may receive the affidavits in evidence and may allow the affidavits to be read to the jury and the contents thereof considered in rendering a verdict, unless counsel for the person named in the petition subpoenas the treating professional person. If such treating professional person is subpoenaed to testify, the public officer, pursuant to Section 5114, shall be entitled to a continuance of the hearing or trial.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5302. At the time of filing of a petition for postcertification treatment the court shall advise the person named in the petition of his right to be represented by an attorney and of his right to demand a jury trial. The court shall assist him in finding an attorney, or, if need be, appoint an attorney if the person is unable to obtain counsel. The court shall appoint the public defender or other attorney to represent the person named in the petition if the person is financially unable to provide his own attorney. The attorney shall advise the person of his rights in relation to the proceeding and shall represent him before the court.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5303. The court shall conduct the proceedings on the petition for postcertification treatment within four judicial days of the filing of the petition and in accordance with constitutional guarantees of due process of law and the procedures required under Section 13 of Article 1 of the Constitution of the State of California.

If at the time of the hearing the person named in the petition requests a jury trial, such trial shall commence within 10 judicial days of the filing of the petition for postcertification treatment unless the person's attorney requests a continuance, which may be for a maximum of 10 additional judicial days. The decison of the jury must be unanimous in order to support the finding of facts required by Section 5304.

Until a final decision on the merits by the trial court the person named in the petition shall continue to be treated in the intensive treatment facility until released by order of the superior court having jurisdiction over the action, or unless the petition for postcertification treatment is withdrawn. If no decision has been made within 30 days after the filing of the petition, not including extensions of time requested by the person's attorney, the person shall be released.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5303.1. For the purposes of any hearing or jury trial held pursuant to this article, the judge of the court in which such hearing or trial is held may appoint a psychiatrist or psychologist with forensic skills. Such psychiatrist or psychologist shall personally examine the person named in the petition. Such a forensic psychiatrist or psychologist shall testify at the hearing or jury trial concerning the mental condition of the person named in the petition and the threat of substantial physical harm to other beings such person presents, and neither the professional person or his designee who petitioned for the additional period of treatment nor of the physicians providing intensive treatment shall be required, unless the person named in the petition chooses to subpoena such persons, to be present at the hearing or jury trial.

If a psychiatrist or psychologist with forensic skills is not appointed pursuant to this section the person named in the petition may, upon advice of counsel, waive the presence at the hearing or at the jury trial of the professional person or his designee who petitioned for the additional period of treatment and the physicians providing intensive treatment. In the event of such waiver, such professional person, his designee, or other physicians shall not be required to be present at the hearing if it is stipulated that the certification, supporting affidavit and records of such physicians concerning the mental condition of the person named in the petition will be received in evidence.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5304. (a) The court shall remand a person named in the petition for postcertification treatment to the custody of the State Department of Mental Health or to a licensed health facility designated by the county of residence of that person for a further period of intensive treatment not to exceed 180 days from the date of court judgment, if the court or jury finds that the person named in the petition for postcertification treatment has done any of the following:

(1) Attempted, inflicted, or made a serious threat of substantial physical harm upon the person of another after having been taken into custody, and while in custody, for evaluation and treatment, and who, as a result of mental disorder or mental defect, presents a demonstrated danger of inflicting substantial physical harm upon others.

(2) Attempted or inflicted physical harm upon the person of another, that act having resulted in his or her being taken into custody, and who, as a result of mental disorder or mental defect, presents a demonstrated danger of inflicting substantial physical harm upon others.

(3) Expressed a serious threat of substantial physical harm upon the person of another within seven days of being taken into custody, that threat having at least in part resulted in his or her being taken into custody, and who presents, as a result of mental disorder or mental defect, a demonstrated danger of inflicting substantial physical harm upon others.

(b) The person shall be released from involuntary treatment at the expiration of 180 days unless the public officer, pursuant to Section 5114, files a new petition for postcertification treatment on the grounds that he or she has attempted, inflicted, or made a serious threat of substantial physical harm upon another during his or her period of postcertification treatment, and he or she is a person who by reason of mental disorder or mental defect, presents a demonstrated danger of inflicting substantial physical harm upon others. The new petition for postcertification treatment shall be filed in the superior court in which the original petition for postcertification was filed.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5305. (a) Any person committed pursuant to Section 5300 may be placed on outpatient status if all of the following conditions are satisfied:

(1) In the evaluation of the superintendent or professional person in charge of the licensed health facility, the person named in the petition will no longer be a danger to the health and safety of others while on outpatient status and will benefit from outpatient status.

(2) The county mental health director advises the court that the person named in the petition will benefit from outpatient status and identifies an appropriate program of supervision and treatment.

(b) After actual notice to the public officer, pursuant to Section Welfare and Institutions Code § 5114, and to counsel of the person named in the petition, to the court and to the county mental health director, the plan for outpatient treatment shall become effective within five judicial days unless a court hearing on that action is requested by any of the aforementioned parties, in which case the release on outpatient status shall not take effect until approved by the court after a hearing. This hearing shall be held within five judicial days of the actual notice required by this subdivision.

(c) The county mental health director shall be the outpatient supervisor of persons placed on outpatient status under provisions of this section. The county mental health director may delegate such outpatient supervision responsibility to a designee.

(d) The outpatient treatment supervisor shall, where the person is placed on outpatient status at least three months, submit at 90-day intervals to the court, the public officer, pursuant to Section 5114, and counsel of the person named in the petition and to the supervisor or professional person in charge of the licensed health facility, where appropriate, a report setting forth the status and progress of the person named in the petition. Notwithstanding the length of the outpatient status, a final report shall be submitted by the outpatient treatment supervisor at the conclusion of the 180-day commitment setting forth the status and progress of the person.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5306. (a) Notwithstanding Section 5113, if the provisions of Section 5309 have been met, the superintendent, the professional person in charge of the hospital providing 90-day involuntary treatment, the medical director of the facility or his or her designee described in subdivision (a) of Section 5309, and the psychiatrist directly responsible for the person's treatment shall not be held civilly or criminally liable for any action by a person released before the end of a 90-day period pursuant to this article.

(b) The superintendent, the professional person in charge of the hospital providing 90-day involuntary treatment, the medical director of the facility or his or her designee described in subdivision (a) of Section 5309, and the psychiatrist directly responsible for the person's treatment shall not be held civilly or criminally liable for any action by a person released at the end of a 90-day period pursuant to this article.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5306.5. If at any time during the outpatient period, the outpatient treatment supervisor is of the opinion that the person receiving treatment requires extended inpatient treatment or refuses to accept further outpatient treatment and supervision, the county mental health director shall notify the superior court in either the county which approved outpatient status or in the county where outpatient treatment is being provided of such opinion by means of a written request for revocation of outpatient status. The county mental health director shall furnish a copy of this request to the counsel of the person named in the request for revocation and to the public officer, pursuant to Section 5114, in both counties if the request is made in the county of treatment, rather than the county of commitment.

Within 15 judicial days, the court where the request was filed shall hold a hearing and shall either approve or disapprove the request for revocation of outpatient status. If the court approves the request for revocation, the court shall order that the person be confined in a state hospital or other treatment facility approved by the county mental health director. The court shall transmit a copy of its order to the county mental health director or a designee and to the Director of Mental Health. Where the county of treatment and the county of commitment differ and revocation occurs in the county of treatment, the court shall enter the name of the committing county and its case number on the order of revocation and shall send a copy of the order to the committing court and the public officer, pursuant to Section 5114, and counsel of the person named in the request for revocation in the county of commitment.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5307. If at any time during the outpatient period the public officer, pursuant to Section 5114, is of the opinion that the person is a danger to the health and safety of others while on outpatient status, the public officer, pursuant to Section 5114, may petition the court for a hearing to determine whether the person shall be continued on outpatient status. Upon receipt of the petition, the court shall calendar the case for further proceedings within 15 judicial days and the clerk shall notify the person, the county mental health director, and the attorney of record for the person of the hearing date. Upon failure of the person to appear as noticed, if a proper affidavit of service and advisement has been filed with the court, the court may issue a body attachment for such person. If, after a hearing in court the judge determines that the person is a danger to the health and safety of others, the court shall order that the person be confined in a state hospital or other treatment facility which has been approved by the county mental health director.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5308. Upon the filing of a request for revocation of outpatient status under Section 5306.5 or 5307 and pending the court's decision on revocation, the person subject to revocation may be confined in a state hospital or other treatment facility by the county mental health director when it is the opinion of that director that the person will now be a danger to self or to another while on outpatient status and that to delay hospitalization until the revocation hearing would pose a demonstrated danger of harm to the person or to another. Upon the request of the county mental health director or a designee, a peace officer shall take, or cause to be taken, the person into custody and transport the person to a treatment facility for hospitalization under this section. The county mental health director shall notify the court in writing of the admission of the person to inpatient status and of the factual basis for the opinion that such immediate return to inpatient treatment was necessary. The court shall supply a copy of these documents to the public officer, pursuant to Section 5114, and counsel of the person subject to revocation.

A person hospitalized under this section shall have the right to judicial review of the detention in the manner prescribed in Article Welfare and Institutions Code § 5 (commencing with Section 5275) of Chapter 2 and to an explanation of rights in the manner prescribed in Section 5252.1.

Nothing in this section shall prevent hospitalization pursuant to the provisions of Section 5150, 5250, 5350, or 5353.

A person whose confinement in a treatment facility under Section Welfare and Institutions Code § 5306.5 or 5307 is approved by the court shall not be released again to outpatient status unless court approval is obtained under Section Welfare and Institutions Code § 5305.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5309. (a) Nothing in this article shall prohibit the superintendent or professional person in charge of the hospital in which the person is being involuntarily treated from releasing him or her from treatment prior to the expiration of the commitment period when, the psychiatrist directly responsible for the person's treatment believes, as a result of his or her personal observations, that the person being involuntarily treated no longer constitutes a demonstrated danger of substantial physical harm to others. If any other professional person who is authorized to release the person, believes the person should be released prior to the expiration of the commitment period, and the psychiatrist directly responsible for the person's treatment objects, the matter shall be referred to the medical director of the facility for the final decision. However, if the medical director is not a psychiatrist, he or she shall appoint a designee who is a psychiatrist. If the matter is referred, the person shall be released prior to the expiration of the commitment period only if the psychiatrist making the final decision believes, as a result of his or her personal observations, that the person being involuntarily treated no longer constitutes a demonstrated danger of substantial physical harm to others.

(b) After actual notice to the public officer, pursuant to Section Welfare and Institutions Code § 5114, and to counsel of the person named in the petition, to the court, and to the county mental health director, the plan for unconditional release shall become effective within five judicial days unless a court hearing on that action is requested by any of the aforementioned parties, in which case the unconditional release shall not take effect until approved by the court after a hearing. This hearing shall be held within five judicial days of the actual notice required by this subdivision.

Article 7. Legal and Civil Rights of Persons Involuntarily Detained

Welfare and Institutions Code §§ 5325-5337

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5325. Each person involuntarily detained for evaluation or treatment under provisions of this part, each person admitted as a voluntary patient for psychiatric evaluation or treatment to any health facility, as defined in Section 1250 of the Health and Safety Code, in which psychiatric evaluation or treatment is offered, and each mentally retarded person committed to a state hospital pursuant to Article 5 (commencing with Section 6500) of Chapter 2 of Part 2 of Division 6 shall have the following rights, a list of which shall be prominently posted in the predominant languages of the community and explained in a language or modality accessible to the patient in all facilities providing such services and otherwise brought to his or her attention by such additional means as the Director of Mental Health may designate by regulation:

(a) To wear his or her own clothes; to keep and use his or her own personal possessions including his or her toilet articles; and to keep and be allowed to spend a reasonable sum of his or her own money for canteen expenses and small purchases.

(b) To have access to individual storage space for his or her private use.

(d) To have reasonable access to telephones, both to make and receive confidential calls or to have such calls made for them.

(e) To have ready access to letterwriting materials, including stamps, and to mail and receive unopened correspondence.

(f) To refuse convulsive treatment including, but not limited to, any electroconvulsive treatment, any treatment of the mental condition which depends on the induction of a convulsion by any means, and insulin coma treatment.

(g) To refuse psychosurgery. Psychosurgery is defined as those operations currently referred to as lobotomy, psychiatric surgery, and behavioral surgery and all other forms of brain surgery if the surgery is performed for the purpose of any of the following:

(1) Modification or control of thoughts, feelings, actions, or behavior rather than the treatment of a known and diagnosed physical disease of the brain.

(2) Modification of normal brain function or normal brain tissue in order to control thoughts, feelings, actions, or behavior.

(3) Treatment of abnormal brain function or abnormal brain tissue in order to modify thoughts, feelings, actions or behavior when the abnormality is not an established cause for those thoughts, feelings, actions, or behavior.

Psychosurgery does not include prefrontal sonic treatment wherein there is no destruction of brain tissue. The Director of Mental Health shall promulgate appropriate regulations to assure adequate protection of patients' rights in such treatment.

(h) To see and receive the services of a patient advocate who has no direct or indirect clinical or administrative responsibility for the person receiving mental health services.

(i) Other rights, as specified by regulation.

Each patient shall also be given notification in a language or modality accessible to the patient of other constitutional and statutory rights which are found by the State Department of Mental Health to be frequently misunderstood, ignored, or denied.

Upon admission to a facility each patient shall immediately be given a copy of a State Department of Mental Health prepared patients' rights handbook.

The State Department of Mental Health shall prepare and provide the forms specified in this section and in Section 5157.

The rights specified in this section may not be waived by the person's parent, guardian, or conservator.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5325.1. Persons with mental illness have the same legal rights and responsibilities guaranteed all other persons by the Federal Constitution and laws and the Constitution and laws of the State of California, unless specifically limited by federal or state law or regulations. No otherwise qualified person by reason of having been involuntarily detained for evaluation or treatment under provisions of this part or having been admitted as a voluntary patient to any health facility, as defined in Section 1250 of the Health and Safety Code, in which psychiatric evaluation or treatment is offered shall be excluded from participation in, be denied the benefits of, or be subjected to discrimination under any program or activity, which receives public funds.

It is the intent of the legislature that persons with mental illness shall have rights including, but not limited to, the following:

(a) A right to treatment services which promote the potential of the person to function independently. Treatment should be provided in ways that are least restrictive of the personal liberty of the individual.

(b) A right to dignity, privacy, and humane care.

(c) A right to be free from harm, including unnecessary or excessive physical restraint, isolation, medication, abuse, or neglect. Medication shall not be used as punishment, for the convenience of staff, as a substitute for program, or in quantities that interfere with the treatment program.

(d) A right to prompt medical care and treatment.

(e) A right to religious freedom and practice.

(f) A right to participate in appropriate programs of publicly supported education.

(g) A right to social interaction and participation in community activities.

(h) A right to physical exercise and recreational opportunities.

(i) A right to be free from hazardous procedures.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5325.2. Any person who is subject to detention pursuant to Section Welfare and Institutions Code § 5150, 5250, 5260, or 5270.15 shall have the right to refuse treatment with antipsychotic medication subject to provisions set forth in this chapter.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5326. The professional person in charge of the facility or his or her designee may, for good cause, deny a person any of the rights under Section 5325, except under subdivisions (g) and (h) and the rights under subdivision (f) may be denied only under the conditions specified in Section 5326.7. To ensure that these rights are denied only for good cause, the Director of Mental Health shall adopt regulations specifying the conditions under which they may be denied. Denial of a person's rights shall in all cases be entered into the person's treatment record.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5326.1. Quarterly, each local mental health director shall furnish to the Director of Mental Health, the facility reports of the number of persons whose rights were denied and the right or rights which were denied. The content of the reports from facilities shall enable the local mental health director and Director of Mental Health to identify individual treatment records, if necessary, for further analysis and investigation. These quarterly reports, except for the identity of the person whose rights are denied, shall be available, upon request, to Members of the State Legislature, or a member of a county board of supervisors.

Notwithstanding any other provision of law, information pertaining to denial of rights contained in the person's treatment record shall be made available, on request, to the person, his or her attorney, his or her conservator or guardian, the local mental health director, or his or her designee, or the Patient's Rights Office of the State Department of Mental Health. The information may include consent forms, required documentation for convulsive treatment, documentation regarding the use of restraints and seclusion, physician's orders, nursing notes, and involuntary detention and conservatorship papers. The information, except for the identity of the person whose rights are denied, shall be made available to the Members of the State Legislature or a member of a county board of supervisors.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5326.15. (a) Quarterly, any doctor or facility which administers convulsive treatments or psychosurgery, shall report to the local mental health director, who shall transmit a copy to the Director of Mental Health, the number of persons who received such treatments wherever administered, in each of the following categories:

(1) Involuntary patients who gave informed consent.

(2) Involuntary patients who were deemed incapable of giving informed consent and received convulsive treatment against their will.

(3) Voluntary patients who gave informed consent.

(4) Voluntary patients deemed incapable of giving consent.

(b) Quarterly, the Director of Mental Health shall forward to the Medical Board of California any records or information received from such reports indicating violation of the law, and the regulations which have been adopted thereto.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5326.2. To constitute voluntary informed consent, the following information shall be given to the patient in a clear and explicit manner:

(a) The reason for treatment, that is, the nature and seriousness of the patient's illness, disorder or defect.

(b) The nature of the procedures to be used in the proposed treatment, including its probable frequency and duration.

(c) The probable degree and duration (temporary or permanent) of improvement or remission, expected with or without such treatment.

(d) The nature, degree, duration, and the probability of the side effects and significant risks, commonly known by the medical profession, of such treatment, including its adjuvants, especially noting the degree and duration of memory loss (including its irreversibility) and how and to what extent they may be controlled, if at all.

(e) That there exists a division of opinion as to the efficacy of the proposed treatment, why and how it works and its commonly known risks and side effects.

(f) The reasonable alternative treatments, and why the physician is recommending this particular treatment.

(g) That the patient has the right to accept or refuse the proposed treatment, and that if he or she consents, has the right to revoke his or her consent for any reason, at any time prior to or between treatments.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5326.3. The State Department of Mental Health shall promulgate a standard written consent form, setting forth clearly and in detail the matters listed in Section 5326.2, and such further information with respect to each item as deemed generally appropriate to all patients.

The treating physician shall utilize the standard written consent form and in writing supplement it with those details which pertain to the particular patient being treated.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5326.4. The treating physician shall then present to the patient the supplemented form specified under Section 5326.3 and orally, clearly, and in detail explain all of the above information to the patient. The treating physician shall then administer the execution by the patient of the total supplemented written consent form, which shall be dated and witnessed.

The fact of the execution of such written consent form and of the oral explanation shall be entered into the patient's treatment record, as shall be a copy of the consent form itself. Should entry of such latter information into the patient's treatment record be deemed by any court an unlawful invasion of privacy, then such consent form shall be maintained in a confidential manner and place.

The consent form shall be available to the person, and to his or her attorney, guardian, and conservator and, if the patient consents, to a responsible relative of the patient's choosing.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5326.5. (a) For purposes of this chapter, "written informed consent" means that a person knowingly and intelligently, without duress or coercion, clearly and explicitly manifests consent to the proposed therapy to the treating physician and in writing on the standard consent form prescribed in Section 5326.4.

(b) The physician may urge the proposed treatment as the best one, but may not use, in an effort to gain consent, any reward or threat, express or implied, nor any other form of inducement or coercion, including, but not limited to, placing the patient in a more restricted setting, transfer of the patient to another facility, or loss of the patient's hospital privileges. Nothing in this subdivision shall be construed as in conflict with Section 5326.2. No one shall be denied any benefits for refusing treatment.

(c) A person confined shall be deemed incapable of written informed consent if such person cannot understand, or knowingly and intelligently act upon, the information specified in Section 5326.2.

(d) A person confined shall not be deemed incapable of refusal solely by virtue of being diagnosed as a mentally ill, disordered, abnormal, or mentally defective person.

(e) Written informed consent shall be given only after 24 hours have elapsed from the time the information in Section 5326.2 has been given.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5326.55. Persons who serve on review committees shall not otherwise be personally involved in the treatment of the patient whose case they are reviewing.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5326.6. Psychosurgery, wherever administered, may be performed only if:

(a) The patient gives written informed consent to the psychosurgery.

(b) A responsible relative of the person's choosing and with the person's consent, and the guardian or conservator if there is one, has read the standard consent form as defined in Section 5326.4 and has been given by the treating physician the information required in Section 5326.2. Should the person desire not to inform a relative or should such chosen relative be unavailable this requirement is dispensed with.

(c) The attending physician gives adequate documentation entered in the patient's treatment record of the reasons for the procedure, that all other appropriate treatment modalities have been exhausted and that this mode of treatment is definitely indicated and is the least drastic alternative available for the treatment of the patient at the time. Such statement in the treatment record shall be signed by the attending and treatment physician or physicians.

(d) Three physicians, one appointed by the facility and two appointed by the local mental health director, two of whom shall be either board-certified or eligible psychiatrists or board-certified or eligible neurosurgeons, have personally examined the patient and unanimously agree with the attending physicians' determinations pursuant to subdivision (c) and agree that the patient has the capacity to give informed consent. Such agreement shall be documented in the patient's treatment record and signed by each such physician.

Psychosurgery shall in no case be performed for at least 72 hours following the patient's written consent. Under no circumstances shall psychosurgery be performed on a minor.

As used in this section and Sections 5326.4 and 5326.7 "responsible relative" includes the spouse, parent, adult child, or adult brother or sister of the person.

The giving of consent to any of the treatments covered by this chapter may not be construed as a waiver of the right to refuse treatment at a future time. Consent may be withdrawn at any time. Such withdrawal of consent may be either oral or written and shall be given effect immediately.

Refusal of consent to undergo a psychosurgery shall be entered in the patient's treatment record.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5326.7. Subject to the provisions of subdivision (f) of Section Welfare and Institutions Code § 5325, convulsive treatment may be administered to an involuntary patient, including anyone under guardianship or conservatorship, only if:

(a) The attending or treatment physician enters adequate documentation in the patient's treatment record of the reasons for the procedure, that all reasonable treatment modalities have been carefully considered, and that the treatment is definitely indicated and is the least drastic alternative available for this patient at this time. Such statement in the treatment record shall be signed by the attending and treatment physician or physicians.

(b) A review of the patient's treatment record is conducted by a committee of two physicians, at least one of whom shall have personally examined the patient. One physician shall be appointed by the facility and one shall be appointed by the local mental health director. Both shall be either board-certified or board-eligible psychiatrists or board-certified or board-eligible neurologists. This review committee must unanimously agree with the treatment physician's determinations pursuant to subdivision (a). Such agreement shall be documented in the patient's treatment record and signed by both physicians.

(c) A responsible relative of the person's choosing and the person' s guardian or conservator, if there is one, have been given the oral explanation by the attending physician as required by Section 5326. 2. Should the person desire not to inform a relative or should such chosen relative be unavailable, this requirement is dispensed with.

(d) The patient gives written informed consent as defined in Section 5326.5 to the convulsive treatment. Such consent shall be for a specified maximum number of treatments over a specified maximum period of time not to exceed 30 days, and shall be revocable at any time before or between treatments. Such withdrawal of consent may be either oral or written and shall be given effect immediately. Additional treatments in number or time, not to exceed 30 days, shall require a renewed written informed consent.

(e) The patient's attorney, or if none, a public defender appointed by the court, agrees as to the patient's capacity or incapacity to give written informed consent and that the patient who has capacity has given written informed consent.

(f) If either the attending physician or the attorney believes that the patient does not have the capacity to give a written informed consent, then a petition shall be filed in superior court to determine the patient's capacity to give written informed consent. The court shall hold an evidentiary hearing after giving appropriate notice to the patient, and within three judicial days after the petition is filed. At such hearing the patient shall be present and represented by legal counsel. If the court deems the above-mentioned attorney to have a conflict of interest, such attorney shall not represent the patient in this proceeding.

(g) If the court determines that the patient does not have the capacity to give written informed consent, then treatment may be performed upon gaining the written informed consent as defined in Sections 5326.2 and 5326.5 from the responsible relative or the guardian or the conservator of the patient.

(h) At any time during the course of treatment of a person who has been deemed incompetent, that person shall have the right to claim regained competency. Should he do so, the person's competency must be reevaluated according to subdivisions (e), (f), and (g).

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5326.75. Convulsive treatment for all other patients including but not limited to those voluntarily admitted to a facility, or receiving the treatment in a physician's office, clinic or private home, may be administered only if:

(a) The requirements of subdivisions (a), (c), and (d) of Section Welfare and Institutions Code § 5326.7 are met.

(b) A board-certified or board-eligible psychiatrist or a board-certified or board-eligible neurologist other than the patient' s attending or treating physician has examined the patient and verifies that the patient has the capacity to give and has given written informed consent. Such verification shall be documented in the patient's treatment record and signed by the treating physician.

(c) If there is not the verification required by subdivision (b) of this section or if the patient has not the capacity to give informed consent, then subdivisions (b), (e), (f), (g), and (h) of Section 5326.7 shall also be met.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5326.8. Under no circumstances shall convulsive treatment be performed on a minor under 12 years of age. Persons 16 and 17 years of age shall personally have and exercise the rights under this article.

Persons 12 years of age and over, and under 16, may be administered convulsive treatment only if all the other provisions of this law are complied with and in addition:

(a) It is an emergency situation and convulsive treatment is deemed a lifesaving treatment.

(b) This fact and the need for and appropriateness of the treatment are unanimously certified to by a review board of three board-eligible or board-certified child psychiatrists appointed by the local mental health director.

(c) It is otherwise performed in full compliance with regulations promulgated by the Director of Mental Health under Section 5326.95.

(d) It is thoroughly documented and reported immediately to the Director of Mental Health.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5326.85. No convulsive treatment shall be performed if the patient, whether admitted to the facility as a voluntary or involuntary patient, is deemed to be able to give informed consent and refuses to do so. The physician shall indicate in the treatment record that the treatment was refused despite the physician's advice and that he has explained to the patient the patient's responsibility for any untoward consequences of his refusal.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5326.9. (a) Any alleged or suspected violation of the rights described in Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 5150) shall be investigated by the local director of mental health, or his or her designee. Violations of Sections 5326.2 to 5326.8, inclusive, shall also be investigated by the Director of Mental Health, or his or her designee. If it is determined by the local director of mental health or Director of Mental Health that a right has been violated, a formal notice of violation shall be issued.

(b) Either the local director of mental health or the Director of Mental Health upon issuing a notice of violation may take any or all of the following action:

(1) Assign a specified time period during which the violation shall be corrected.

(2) Referral to the Medical Board of California or other professional licensing agency. Such board shall investigate further, if warranted, and shall subject the individual practitioner to any penalty the board finds necessary and is authorized to impose.

(3) Revoke a facility's designation and authorization under Section 5404 to evaluate and treat persons detained involuntarily.

(4) Refer any violation of law to a local district attorney or the Attorney General for prosecution in any court with jurisdiction.

(c) Any physician who intentionally violates Sections 5326.2 to Welfare and Institutions Code § 5326.8, inclusive, shall be subject to a civil penalty of not more than five thousand dollars ($5,000) for each violation. Such penalty may be assessed and collected in a civil action brought by the Attorney General in a superior court. Such intentional violation shall be grounds for revocation of license.

(d) Any person or facility found to have knowingly violated the provisions of the first paragraph of Section 5325.1 or to have denied without good cause any of the rights specified in Section 5325 shall pay a civil penalty, as determined by the court, of fifty dollars ($50) per day during the time in which the violation is not corrected, commencing on the day on which a notice of violation was issued, not to exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000), for each and every violation, except that any liability under this provision shall be offset by an amount equal to a fine or penalty imposed for the same violation under the provisions of Sections 1423 to 1425, inclusive, or 1428 of the Health and Safety Code. These penalties shall be deposited in the general fund of the county in which the violation occurred. The local district attorney or the Attorney General shall enforce this section in any court with jurisdiction. Where the State Department of Health Services, under the provisions of Sections 1423 to 1425, inclusive, of the Health and Safety Code, determines that no violation has occurred, the provisions of paragraph (4) of subdivision (b) shall not apply.

(e) The remedies provided by this subdivision shall be in addition to and not in substitution for any other remedies which an individual may have under law.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5326.91. In any facility in which convulsive treatment is performed on a person whether admitted to the facility as an involuntary or voluntary patient, the facility will designate a qualified committee to review all such treatments and to verify the appropriateness and need for such treatment. The local mental health director shall establish a postaudit review committee for convulsive treatments administered anywhere other than in any facility as defined in Section 1250 of the Health and Safety Code in which psychiatric evaluation or treatment is offered. Records of these committees will be subject to availability in the same manner as are the records of other hospital utilization and audit committees and to such other regulations as are promulgated by the Director of Mental Health. Persons serving on such review committees will enjoy the same immunities as other persons serving on utilization, peer review, and audit committees of health care facilities.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5326.95. The Director of Mental Health shall adopt regulations to carry out the provisions of this chapter, including standards defining excessive use of convulsive treatment which shall be developed in consultation with the conference of local mental health directors.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5327. Every person involuntarily detained under provisions of this part or under certification for intensive treatment or postcertification treatment in any public or private mental institution or hospital, including a conservatee placed in any medical, psychiatric or nursing facility, shall be entitled to all rights set forth in this part and shall retain all rights not specifically denied him under this part.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5328. All information and records obtained in the course of providing services under Division 4 (commencing with Section 4000), Division 4.1 (commencing with Section 4400), Division 4.5 (commencing with Section 4500), Division 5 (commencing with Section 5000), Division 6 (commencing with Section 6000), or Division 7 (commencing with Section 7100), to either voluntary or involuntary recipients of services shall be confidential. Information and records obtained in the course of providing similar services to either voluntary or involuntary recipients prior to 1969 shall also be confidential. Information and records shall be disclosed only in any of the following cases:

(a) In communications between qualified professional persons in the provision of services or appropriate referrals, or in the course of conservatorship proceedings. The consent of the patient, or his or her guardian or conservator shall be obtained before information or records may be disclosed by a professional person employed by a facility to a professional person not employed by the facility who does not have the medical or psychological responsibility for the patient's care.

(b) When the patient, with the approval of the physician, licensed psychologist, social worker with a master's degree in social work, or licensed marriage and family therapist, who is in charge of the patient, designates persons to whom information or records may be released, except that nothing in this article shall be construed to compel a physician, licensed psychologist, social worker with a master's degree in social work, licensed marriage and family therapist, nurse, attorney, or other professional person to reveal information that has been given to him or her in confidence by members of a patient's family. Nothing in this subdivision shall be construed to authorize a licensed marriage and family therapist to provide services or to be in charge of a patient's care beyond his or her lawful scope of practice.

(c) To the extent necessary for a recipient to make a claim, or for a claim to be made on behalf of a recipient for aid, insurance, or medical assistance to which he or she may be entitled.

(d) If the recipient of services is a minor, ward, or conservatee, and his or her parent, guardian, guardian ad litem, or conservator designates, in writing, persons to whom records or information may be disclosed, except that nothing in this article shall be construed to compel a physician, licensed psychologist, social worker with a master's degree in social work, licensed marriage and family therapist, nurse, attorney, or other professional person to reveal information that has been given to him or her in confidence by members of a patient's family.

(e) For research, provided that the Director of Mental Health or the Director of Developmental Services designates by regulation, rules for the conduct of research and requires the research to be first reviewed by the appropriate institutional review board or boards. The rules shall include, but need not be limited to, the requirement that all researchers shall sign an oath of confidentiality as follows:

_______________________________

Date

As a condition of doing research concerning persons who have received services from ____ (fill in the facility, agency or person), I, ____, agree to obtain the prior informed consent of such persons who have received services to the maximum degree possible as determined by the appropriate institutional review board or boards for protection of human subjects reviewing my research, and I further agree not to divulge any information obtained in the course of such research to unauthorized persons, and not to publish or otherwise make public any information regarding persons who have received services such that the person who received services is identifiable.

I recognize that the unauthorized release of confidential information may make me subject to a civil action under provisions of the Welfare and Institutions Code.

(f) To the courts, as necessary to the administration of justice.

(g) To governmental law enforcement agencies as needed for the protection of federal and state elective constitutional officers and their families.

(h) To the Senate Committee on Rules or the Assembly Committee on Rules for the purposes of legislative investigation authorized by the committee.

(i) If the recipient of services who applies for life or disability insurance designates in writing the insurer to which records or information may be disclosed.

(j) To the attorney for the patient in any and all proceedings upon presentation of a release of information signed by the patient, except that when the patient is unable to sign the release, the staff of the facility, upon satisfying itself of the identity of the attorney, and of the fact that the attorney does represent the interests of the patient, may release all information and records relating to the patient except that nothing in this article shall be construed to compel a physician, licensed psychologist, social worker with a master's degree in social work, licensed marriage and family therapist, nurse, attorney, or other professional person to reveal information that has been given to him or her in confidence by members of a patient's family.

(k) Upon written agreement by a person previously confined in or otherwise treated by a facility, the professional person in charge of the facility or his or her designee may release any information, except information that has been given in confidence by members of the person's family, requested by a probation officer charged with the evaluation of the person after his or her conviction of a crime if the professional person in charge of the facility determines that the information is relevant to the evaluation. The agreement shall only be operative until sentence is passed on the crime of which the person was convicted. The confidential information released pursuant to this subdivision shall be transmitted to the court separately from the probation report and shall not be placed in the probation report. The confidential information shall remain confidential except for purposes of sentencing. After sentencing, the confidential information shall be sealed.

(l) Between persons who are trained and qualified to serve on multidisciplinary personnel teams pursuant to subdivision (d) of Section 18951. The information and records sought to be disclosed shall be relevant to the prevention, identification, management, or treatment of an abused child and his or her parents pursuant to Chapter 11 (commencing with Section 18950) of Part 6 of Division 9.

(m) To county patients' rights advocates who have been given knowing voluntary authorization by a client or a guardian ad litem. The client or guardian ad litem, whoever entered into the agreement, may revoke the authorization at any time, either in writing or by oral declaration to an approved advocate.

(n) To a committee established in compliance with Section 4070.

(o) In providing information as described in Section 7325.5. Nothing in this subdivision shall permit the release of any information other than that described in Section 7325.5.

(p) To the county mental health director or the director's designee, or to a law enforcement officer, or to the person designated by a law enforcement agency, pursuant to Sections 5152.1 and 5250.1.

(q) If the patient gives his or her consent, information specifically pertaining to the existence of genetically handicapping conditions, as defined in Section 125135 of the Health and Safety Code, may be released to qualified professional persons for purposes of genetic counseling for blood relatives upon request of the blood relative. For purposes of this subdivision, "qualified professional persons" means those persons with the qualifications necessary to carry out the genetic counseling duties under this subdivision as determined by the genetic disease unit established in the State Department of Health Services under Section 125000 of the Health and Safety Code. If the patient does not respond or cannot respond to a request for permission to release information pursuant to this subdivision after reasonable attempts have been made over a two-week period to get a response, the information may be released upon request of the blood relative.

(r) When the patient, in the opinion of his or her psychotherapist, presents a serious danger of violence to a reasonably foreseeable victim or victims, then any of the information or records specified in this section may be released to that person or persons and to law enforcement agencies as the psychotherapist determines is needed for the protection of that person or persons. For purposes of this subdivision, "psychotherapist" means anyone so defined within Section 1010 of the Evidence Code.

(s) (1) To the designated officer of an emergency response employee, and from that designated officer to an emergency response employee regarding possible exposure to HIV or AIDS, but only to the extent necessary to comply with provisions of the Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency Act of 1990 (P.L. 101-381; 42 U.S.C. Sec. 201).

(2) For purposes of this subdivision, "designated officer" and "emergency response employee" have the same meaning as these terms are used in the Ryan White Comprehensive AIDS Resources Emergency Act of 1990 (P.L. 101-381; 42 U.S.C. Sec. 201).

(3) The designated officer shall be subject to the confidentiality requirements specified in Section 120980, and may be personally liable for unauthorized release of any identifying information about the HIV results. Further, the designated officer shall inform the exposed emergency response employee that the employee is also subject to the confidentiality requirements specified in Section 120980, and may be personally liable for unauthorized release of any identifying information about the HIV test results.

(t) (1) To a law enforcement officer who personally lodges with a facility, as defined in paragraph (2), a warrant of arrest or an abstract of such a warrant showing that the person sought is wanted for a serious felony, as defined in Section 1192.7 of the Penal Code, or a violent felony, as defined in Section 667.5 of the Penal Code. The information sought and released shall be limited to whether or not the person named in the arrest warrant is presently confined in the facility. This paragraph shall be implemented with minimum disruption to health facility operations and patients, in accordance with Section 5212. If the law enforcement officer is informed that the person named in the warrant is confined in the facility, the officer may not enter the facility to arrest the person without obtaining a valid search warrant or the permission of staff of the facility.

(2) For purposes of paragraph (1), a facility means all of the following:

(A) A state hospital, as defined in Section 4001.

(B) A general acute care hospital, as defined in subdivision (a) of Section 1250 of the Health and Safety Code, solely with regard to information pertaining to a mentally disordered person subject to this section.

(D) A psychiatric health facility, as described in Section 1250.2 of the Health and Safety Code.

(E) A mental health rehabilitation center, as described in Section Welfare and Institutions Code § 5675.

(F) A skilled nursing facility with a special treatment program for chronically mentally disordered patients, as described in Sections 51335 and 72445 to 72475, inclusive, of Title 22 of the California Code of Regulations.

(u) Between persons who are trained and qualified to serve on multidisciplinary personnel teams pursuant to Section 15610.55, 15753.5, or 15761. The information and records sought to be disclosed shall be relevant to the prevention, identification, management, or treatment of an abused elder or dependent adult pursuant to Chapter 13 (commencing with Section 15750) of Part 3 of Division 9.

(v) The amendment of subdivision (d) enacted at the 1970 Regular Session of the Legislature does not constitute a change in, but is declaratory of, the preexisting law.

(w) This section shall not be limited by Section 5150.05 or 5332.

(x) (1) When an employee is served with a notice of adverse action, as defined in Section 19570 of the Government Code, the following information and records may be released:

(A) All information and records that the appointing authority relied upon in issuing the notice of adverse action.

(B) All other information and records that are relevant to the adverse action, or that would constitute relevant evidence as defined in Section 210 of the Evidence Code.

(C) The information described in subparagraphs (A) and (B) may be released only if both of the following conditions are met:

(i) The appointing authority has provided written notice to the consumer and the consumer's legal representative or, if the consumer has no legal representative or if the legal representative is a state agency, to the clients' rights advocate, and the consumer, the consumer's legal representative, or the clients' rights advocate has not objected in writing to the appointing authority within five business days of receipt of the notice, or the appointing authority, upon review of the objection has determined that the circumstances on which the adverse action is based are egregious or threaten the health, safety, or life of the consumer or other consumers and without the information the adverse action could not be taken.

(ii) The appointing authority, the person against whom the adverse action has been taken, and the person's representative, if any, have entered into a stipulation that does all of the following:

(I) Prohibits the parties from disclosing or using the information or records for any purpose other than the proceedings for which the information or records were requested or provided.

(II) Requires the employee and the employee's legal representative to return to the appointing authority all records provided to them under this subdivision, including, but not limited to, all records and documents from any source containing confidential information protected by this section, and all copies of those records and documents, within 10 days of the date that the adverse action becomes final except for the actual records and documents or copies thereof that are no longer in the possession of the employee or the employee' s legal representative because they were submitted to the administrative tribunal as a component of an appeal from the adverse action.

(III) Requires the parties to submit the stipulation to the administrative tribunal with jurisdiction over the adverse action at the earliest possible opportunity.

(2) For the purposes of this subdivision, the State Personnel Board may, prior to any appeal from adverse action being filed with it, issue a protective order, upon application by the appointing authority, for the limited purpose of prohibiting the parties from disclosing or using information or records for any purpose other than the proceeding for which the information or records were requested or provided, and to require the employee or the employee's legal representative to return to the appointing authority all records provided to them under this subdivision, including, but not limited to, all records and documents from any source containing confidential information protected by this section, and all copies of those records and documents, within 10 days of the date that the adverse action becomes final, except for the actual records and documents or copies thereof that are no longer in the possession of the employee or the employee's legal representatives because they were submitted to the administrative tribunal as a component of an appeal from the adverse action.

(3) Individual identifiers, including, but not limited to, names, social security numbers, and hospital numbers, that are not necessary for the prosecution or defense of the adverse action, shall not be disclosed.

(4) All records, documents, or other materials containing confidential information protected by this section that has been submitted or otherwise disclosed to the administrative agency or other person as a component of an appeal from an adverse action shall, upon proper motion by the appointing authority to the administrative tribunal, be placed under administrative seal and shall not, thereafter, be subject to disclosure to any person or entity except upon the issuance of an order of a court of competent jurisdiction.

(5) For purposes of this subdivision, an adverse action becomes final when the employee fails to answer within the time specified in Section 19575 of the Government Code, or, after filing an answer, withdraws the appeal, or, upon exhaustion of the administrative appeal or of the judicial review remedies as otherwise provided by law.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5328.01. Notwithstanding Section 5328, all information and records made confidential under the first paragraph of Section 5328 shall also be disclosed to governmental law enforcement agencies investigating evidence of a crime where the records relate to a patient who is confined or has been confined as a mentally disordered sex offender or pursuant to Section 1026 or 1368 of the Penal Code and the records are in the possession or under the control of any state hospital serving the mentally disabled, as follows:

(a) In accordance with the written consent of the patient; or

(b) If authorized by an appropriate order of a court of competent jurisdiction in the county where the records are located compelling a party to produce in court specified records and specifically describing the records being sought, when the order is granted after an application showing probable cause therefor. In assessing probable cause, the court shall do all of the following:

(1) Weigh the public interest and the need for disclosure against the injury to the patient, to the physician-patient relationship, and to the treatment services.

(2) Determine that there is a reasonable likelihood that the records in question will disclose material information or evidence of substantial value in connection with the investigation or prosecution.

(3) Determine that the crime involves the causing of, or direct threatening of, the loss of life or serious bodily injury.

(4) In granting or denying a subpoena, the court shall state on the record the reasons for its decision and the facts which the court considered in making such a ruling.

(5) If a court grants an order permitting disclosure of such records, the court shall issue all orders necessary to protect, to the maximum extent possible, the patient's privacy and the privacy and confidentiality of the physician-patient relationship.

(6) Any records disclosed pursuant to the provisions of this subdivision and any copies thereof shall be returned to the facility at the completion of the investigation or prosecution unless they have been made a part of the court record.

(c) A governmental law enforcement agency applying for disclosure of patient records under this subdivision may petition the court for an order, upon a showing of probable cause to believe that delay would seriously impede the investigation, which requires the ordered party to produce the records forthwith.

(d) Records obtained by a governmental law enforcement agency pursuant to this section shall not be disseminated to any other agency or person unless such dissemination relates to the criminal investigation for which the records were obtained by the governmental law enforcement agency. The willful dissemination of any record in violation of this paragraph shall constitute a misdemeanor.

(e) If any records obtained pursuant to this section are of a patient presently receiving treatment at the state hospital serving the mentally disabled, the law enforcement agency shall only receive copies of the original records.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5328.02. Notwithstanding Section 5328, all information and records made confidential under the first paragraph of Section 5328 shall also be disclosed to the Youth Authority and Adult Correctional Agency or any component thereof, as necessary to the administration of justice.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5328.05. (a) Notwithstanding Section 5328, information and records may be disclosed when an older adult client, in the opinion of a designee of a human service agency serving older adults through an established multidisciplinary team, presents signs or symptoms of elder abuse or neglect, whether inflicted by another or self-inflicted, the agency designee to the multidisciplinary team may, with the older adult's consent, obtain information from other county agencies regarding, and limited to, whether or not a client is receiving services from any other county agency.

(b) The information obtained pursuant to subdivision (a) shall not include information regarding the nature of the treatment or services provided, and shall be shared among multidisciplinary team members for multidisciplinary team activities pursuant to this section.

(c) The county agencies which may cooperate and share information under this section shall have staff designated as members of an established multidisciplinary team, and include, but not be limited to, the county departments of public social services, health, mental health, and alcohol and drug abuse, the public guardian, and the area agencies on aging.

(d) The county patient's rights advocate shall report any negative consequences of the implementation of this exception to confidentiality requirements to the local mental health director.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5328.06. (a) Notwithstanding Section 5328, information and records shall be disclosed to the protection and advocacy agency established in this state to fulfill the requirements and assurances of the federal Protection and Advocacy for the Mentally Ill Individuals Amendments Act of 1991, contained in Chapter 114 (commencing with Section 10801) of Title 42 of the United States Code, for the protection and advocacy of the rights of people with mental disabilities, including people with mental illness, as defined in Section 10802(4) of Title 42 of the United States Code.

(b) Access to information and records to which subdivision (a) applies shall be in accord with Division 4.7 (commencing with Section 4900).

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5328.1. (a) Upon request of a member of the family of a patient, or other person designated by the patient, a public or private treatment facility shall give the family member or the designee notification of the patient's diagnosis, the prognosis, the medications prescribed, the side effects of medications prescribed, if any, and the progress of the patient, if, after notification of the patient that this information is requested, the patient authorizes its disclosure. If, when initially informed of the request for notification, the patient is unable to authorize the release of such information, notation of the attempt shall be made into the patient's treatment record, and daily efforts shall be made to secure the patient's consent or refusal of authorization. However, if a request for information is made by the spouse, parent, child, or sibling of the patient and the patient is unable to authorize the release of such information, the requester shall be given notification of the patient's presence in the facility, except to the extent prohibited by federal law.

(b) Upon the admission of any mental health patient to a 24-hour public or private health facility licensed pursuant to Section 1250 of the Health and Safety Code, the facility shall make reasonable attempts to notify the patient's next of kin or any other person designated by the patient, of the patient's admission, unless the patient requests that this information not be provided. The facility shall make reasonable attempts to notify the patient's next of kin or any other person designated by the patient, of the patient's release, transfer, serious illness, injury, or death only upon request of the family member, unless the patient requests that this information not be provided. The patient shall be advised by the facility that he or she has the right to request that this information not be provided.

(c) No public or private entity or public or private employee shall be liable for damages caused or alleged to be caused by the release of information or the omission to release information pursuant to this section.

Nothing in this section shall be construed to require photocopying of a patient's medical records in order to satisfy its provisions.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5328.15. All information and records obtained in the course of providing services under Division 5 (commencing with Section 5000), Division 6 (commencing with Section 6000), or Division 7 (commencing with Section 7000), to either voluntary or involuntary recipients of services shall be confidential. Information and records may be disclosed, however, notwithstanding any other provision of law, as follows:

(a) To authorized licensing personnel who are employed by, or who are authorized representatives of, the State Department of Health Services, and who are licensed or registered health professionals, and to authorized legal staff or special investigators who are peace officers who are employed by, or who are authorized representatives of the State Department of Social Services, as necessary to the performance of their duties to inspect, license, and investigate health facilities and community care facilities and to ensure that the standards of care and services provided in such facilities are adequate and appropriate and to ascertain compliance with the rules and regulations to which the facility is subject. The confidential information shall remain confidential except for purposes of inspection, licensing, or investigation pursuant to Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 1250) of, and Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 1500) of, Division 2 of the Health and Safety Code, or a criminal, civil, or administrative proceeding in relation thereto. The confidential information may be used by the State Department of Health Services or the State Department of Social Services in a criminal, civil, or administrative proceeding. The confidential information shall be available only to the judge or hearing officer and to the parties to the case. Names which are confidential shall be listed in attachments separate to the general pleadings. The confidential information shall be sealed after the conclusion of the criminal, civil, or administrative hearings, and shall not subsequently be released except in accordance with this subdivision. If the confidential information does not result in a criminal, civil, or administrative proceeding, it shall be sealed after the State Department of Health Services or the State Department of Social Services decides that no further action will be taken in the matter of suspected licensing violations. Except as otherwise provided in this subdivision, confidential information in the possession of the State Department of Health Services or the State Department of Social Services shall not contain the name of the patient.

(b) To any board which licenses and certifies professionals in the fields of mental health pursuant to state law, when the Director of Mental Health has reasonable cause to believe that there has occurred a violation of any provision of law subject to the jurisdiction of that board and the records are relevant to the violation. This information shall be sealed after a decision is reached in the matter of the suspected violation, and shall not subsequently be released except in accordance with this subdivision. Confidential information in the possession of the board shall not contain the name of the patient.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5328.2. Notwithstanding Section 5328, movement and identification information and records regarding a patient who is committed to the department, state hospital, or any other public or private mental health facility approved by the county mental health director for observation or for an indeterminate period as a mentally disordered sex offender, or for a person who is civilly committed as a sexually violent predator pursuant to Article 4 (commencing with Section 6600) of Chapter 2 of Part 2 of Division 6, or regarding a patient who is committed to the department, to a state hospital, or any other public or private mental health facility approved by the county mental health director under Section 1026 or 1370 of the Penal Code or receiving treatment pursuant to Section 5300 of this code, shall be forwarded immediately without prior request to the Department of Justice. Except as otherwise provided by law, information automatically reported under this section shall be restricted to name, address, fingerprints, date of admission, date of discharge, date of escape or return from escape, date of any home leave, parole or leave of absence and, if known, the county in which the person will reside upon release. The Department of Justice may in turn furnish information reported under this section pursuant to Section 11105 or 11105.1 of the Penal Code. It shall be a misdemeanor for recipients furnished with this information to in turn furnish the information to any person or agency other than those specified in Section 11105 or 11105.1 of the Penal Code.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5328.3. (a) When a voluntary patient would otherwise be subject to the provisions of Section 5150 of this part and disclosure is necessary for the protection of the patient or others due to the patient's disappearance from, without prior notice to, a designated facility and his or her whereabouts is unknown, notice of the disappearance may be made to relatives and governmental law enforcement agencies designated by the physician in charge of the patient or the professional person in charge of the facility or his or her designee.

(b) (1) When an involuntary patient is gravely disabled, as defined in subparagraph (B) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (h) of Section 5008, and the patient has disappeared from a designated facility, or is transferred between state hospitals, notice of the disappearance or transfer shall be made to the court initially ordering the patient's commitment pursuant to Section 1370 of the Penal Code, the district attorney for the county that ordered the commitment, and governmental law enforcement agencies designated by the physician in charge of the patient or the professional person in charge of the facility or his or her designee. This notice shall be made within 24 hours of the patient's disappearance or transfer from the facility.

(2) A designated facility shall not permit the release of an involuntary patient who is gravely disabled, as defined in subparagraph (B) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (h) of Section 5008, without prior written authorization of the court pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (d) of Section 5358. The court may approve the pending release without a hearing unless a party notified pursuant to subdivision (d) of Section 5358 objects to the pending release within 10 days after receiving notice. This paragraph does not apply to the transfer of persons between state hospitals.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5328.35. The State Department of Mental Health shall develop policies and procedures no later than 30 days after the effective date of the Budget Act of 1998, at each state hospital, to notify Members of the Legislature who represent the district in which the state hospital is located, local law enforcement, and designated local government officials in the event of a patient escape or walkaway.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5328.4. The physician in charge of the patient, or the professional person in charge of the facility or his or her designee, when he or she has probable cause to believe that a patient while hospitalized has committed, or has been the victim of, murder, manslaughter, mayhem, aggravated mayhem, kidnapping, carjacking, robbery, assault with intent to commit a felony, arson, extortion, rape, forcible sodomy, forcible oral copulation, unlawful possession of a weapon as provided in Section 12020 of the Penal Code, or escape from a hospital by a mentally disordered sex offender as provided in Section 6330 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, shall release information about the patient to governmental law enforcement agencies.

The physician in charge of the patient, or the professional person in charge of the facility or his or her designee, when he or she has probable cause to believe that a patient, while hospitalized has committed, or has been the victim of assault or battery may release information about the patient to governmental law enforcement agencies.

This section shall be limited solely to information directly relating to the factual circumstances of the commission of the enumerated offenses and shall not include any information relating to the mental state of the patient or the circumstances of his or her voluntary or involuntary admission, commitment, or treatment.

This section shall not be construed as an exception to or in any other way affecting the provisions of Article 7 (commencing with Section 1010) of Chapter 4 of Division 8 of the Evidence Code.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5328.5. Information and records described in Section 5328 may be disclosed in communications relating to the prevention, investigation, or treatment of elder abuse or dependent adult abuse pursuant to Chapter 11 (commencing with Section 15600) and Chapter 13 (commencing with Section 15750), of Part 3 of Division 9.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5328.6. When any disclosure of information or records is made as authorized by the provisions of Section 11878 or 11879 of the Health and Safety Code, subdivision (a) or (d) of Section 5328, Sections Welfare and Institutions Code § 5328.1, 5328.3, or 5328.4, the physician in charge of the patient or the professional person in charge of the facility shall promptly cause to be entered into the patient's medical record: the date and circumstances under which such disclosure was made; the names and relationships to the patient if any, of persons or agencies to whom such disclosure was made; and the specific information disclosed.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5328.7. Signed consent forms by a patient for release of any information to which such patient is required to consent under the provisions of Sections 11878 or 11879 of the Health and Safety Code or subdivision (a) or (d) of Section 5328 shall be obtained for each separate use with the use specified, the information to be released, the name of the agency or individual to whom information will be released indicated on the form and the name of the responsible individual who has authorization to release information specified. Any use of this form shall be noted in the patient file. Patients who sign consent forms shall be given a copy of the consent form signed.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5328.8. The State Department of Mental Health, the physician in charge of the patient, or the professional person in charge of the facility or his or her designee, shall, except as otherwise provided in this section, release information obtained in the course of providing services under Division 5 (commencing with Section 5000), Division 6 (commencing with Section 6000), or Division 7 (commencing with Section 7100), to the coroner when a patient dies from any cause, natural or otherwise, while hospitalized in a state mental hospital. The State Department of Mental Health, the physician in charge of the patient, or the professional person in charge of the facility or his or her designee, shall not release any notes, summaries, transcripts, tapes, or records of conversations between the patient and health professional personnel of the hospital relating to the personal life of the patient which is not related to the diagnosis and treatment of the patient's physical condition. Any information released to the coroner pursuant to this section shall remain confidential and shall be sealed and shall not be made part of the public record.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5328.9. If at such time as a patient's hospital records are required by an employer to whom the patient has applied for employment, such records shall be forwarded to a qualified physician or psychiatrist representing the employer upon the request of the patient unless the physician or administrative officer responsible for the patient deems the release of such records contrary to the best interest of the patient.

If the physician or administrative officer responsible for a patient deems the release of such records contrary to the best interest of the patient, he shall notify the patient within five days. In the event that the disclosure of the patient's records to the patient himself would not serve his best interests, the physician or administrative officer in question shall render formal notice of his decision to the superior court of the county in which the patient resides.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5329. Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to prohibit the compilation and publication of statistical data for use by government or researchers under standards set by the Director of Mental Health.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5330. (a) Any person may bring an action against an individual who has willfully and knowingly released confidential information or records concerning him or her in violation of this chapter, or of Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 11860) of Part 3 of Division 10.5 of the Health and Safety Code, for the greater of the following amounts:

(1) Ten thousand dollars ($10,000).

(2) Three times the amount of actual damages, if any, sustained by the plaintiff.

(b) Any person may bring an action against an individual who has negligently released confidential information or records concerning him or her in violation of this chapter, or of Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 11860) of Part 3 of Division 10.5 of the Health and Safety Code, for both of the following:

(1) One thousand dollars ($1,000). In order to recover under this paragraph, it shall not be a prerequisite that the plaintiff suffer or be threatened with actual damages.

(2) The amount of actual damages, if any, sustained by the plaintiff.

(c) Any person may, in accordance with Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 525) of Title 7 of Part 2 of the Code of Civil Procedure, bring an action to enjoin the release of confidential information or records in violation of this chapter, and may in the same action seek damages as provided in this section.

(d) In addition to the amounts specified in subdivisions (a) and (b), the plaintiff shall recover court costs and reasonable attorney' s fees as determined by the court.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5331. No person may be presumed to be incompetent because he or she has been evaluated or treated for mental disorder or chronic alcoholism, regardless of whether such evaluation or treatment was voluntarily or involuntarily received. Any person who leaves a public or private mental health facility following evaluation or treatment for mental disorder or chronic alcoholism, regardless of whether that evaluation or treatment was voluntarily or involuntarily received, shall be given a statement of California law as stated in this paragraph.

Any person who has been, or is, discharged from a state hospital and received voluntary or involuntary treatment under former provisions of this code relating to inebriates or the mentally ill shall, upon request to the state hospital superintendent or the State Department of Mental Health, be given a statement of California law as stated in this section unless the person is found to be incompetent under proceedings for conservatorship or guardianship.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5332. (a) Antipsychotic medication, as defined in subdivision (l) of Section 5008, may be administered to any person subject to detention pursuant to Section 5150, 5250, 5260, or 5270.15, if that person does not refuse that medication following disclosure of the right to refuse medication as well as information required to be given to persons pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 5152 and subdivision (b) of Section 5213.

(b) If any person subject to detention pursuant to Section 5150, Welfare and Institutions Code § 5250, 5260, or 5270.15, and for whom antipsychotic medication has been prescribed, orally refuses or gives other indication of refusal of treatment with that medication, the medication shall be administered only when treatment staff have considered and determined that treatment alternatives to involuntary medication are unlikely to meet the needs of the patient, and upon a determination of that person's incapacity to refuse the treatment, in a hearing held for that purpose.

(c) Each hospital in conjunction with the hospital medical staff or any other treatment facility in conjunction with its clinical staff shall develop internal procedures for facilitating the filing of petitions for capacity hearings and other activities required pursuant to this chapter.

(d) When any person is subject to detention pursuant to Section Welfare and Institutions Code § 5150, 5250, 5260, or 5270.15, the agency or facility providing the treatment shall acquire the person's medication history, if possible.

(e) In the case of an emergency, as defined in subdivision (m) of Section 5008, a person detained pursuant to Section 5150, 5250, 5260, or 5270.15 may be treated with antipsychotic medication over his or her objection prior to a capacity hearing, but only with antipsychotic medication that is required to treat the emergency condition, which shall be provided in the manner least restrictive to the personal liberty of the patient. It is not necessary for harm to take place or become unavoidable prior to intervention.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5333. (a) Persons subject to capacity hearings pursuant to Section Welfare and Institutions Code § 5332 shall have a right to representation by an advocate or legal counsel. "Advocate," as used in this section, means a person who is providing mandated patients' rights advocacy services pursuant to Chapter 6.2 (commencing with Section 5500), and this chapter. If the Department of Mental Health provides training to patients' rights advocates, that training shall include issues specific to capacity hearings.

(b) Petitions for capacity hearings pursuant to Section 5332 shall be filed with the superior court. The director of the treatment facility or his or her designee shall personally deliver a copy of the notice of the filing of the petition for a capacity hearing to the person who is the subject of the petition.

(c) The mental health professional delivering the copy of the notice of the filing of the petition to the court for a capacity hearing shall, at the time of delivery, inform the person of his or her legal right to a capacity hearing, including the right to the assistance of the patients' rights advocate or an attorney to prepare for the hearing and to answer any questions or concerns.

(d) As soon after the filing of the petition for a capacity hearing is practicable, an attorney or a patients' rights advocate shall meet with the person to discuss the capacity hearing process and to assist the person in preparing for the capacity hearing and to answer questions or to otherwise assist the person, as is appropriate.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5334. (a) Capacity hearings required by Section 5332 shall be heard within 24 hours of the filing of the petition whenever possible. However, if any party needs additional time to prepare for the hearing, the hearing shall be postponed for 24 hours. In case of hardship, hearings may also be postponed for an additional 24 hours, pursuant to local policy developed by the county mental health director and the presiding judge of the superior court regarding the scheduling of hearings. The policy developed pursuant to this subdivision shall specify procedures for the prompt filing and processing of petitions to ensure that the deadlines set forth in this section are met, and shall take into consideration the availability of advocates and the treatment needs of the patient. In no event shall hearings be held beyond 72 hours of the filing of the petition. The person who is the subject of the petition and his or her advocate or counsel shall receive a copy of the petition at the time it is filed.

(b) Capacity hearings shall be held in an appropriate location at the facility where the person is receiving treatment, and shall be held in a manner compatible with, and the least disruptive of, the treatment being provided to the person.

(c) Capacity hearings shall be conducted by a superior court judge, a court-appointed commissioner or referee, or a court-appointed hearing officer. All commissioners, referees, and hearing officers shall be appointed by the superior court from a list of attorneys unanimously approved by a panel composed of the local mental health director, the county public defender, and the county counsel or district attorney designated by the county board of supervisors. No employee of the county mental health program or of any facility designated by the county and approved by the department as a facility for 72-hour treatment and evaluation may serve as a hearing officer. All hearing officers shall receive training in the issues specific to capacity hearings.

(d) The person who is the subject of the capacity hearing shall be given oral notification of the determination at the conclusion of the capacity hearing. As soon thereafter as is practicable, the person, his or her counsel or advocate, and the director of the facility where the person is receiving treatment shall be provided with written notification of the capacity determination, which shall include a statement of the evidence relied upon and the reasons for the determination. A copy of the determination shall be submitted to the superior court.

(e) (1) The person who is the subject of the capacity hearing may appeal the determination to the superior court or the court of appeal.

(2) The person who has filed the original petition for a capacity hearing may request the district attorney or county counsel in the county in which the person is receiving treatment to appeal the determination to the superior court or the court of appeal, on behalf of the state.

(3) Nothing shall prohibit treatment from being initiated pending appeal of a determination of incapacity pursuant to this section.

(4) Nothing in this section shall be construed to preclude the right of a person to bring a writ of habeas corpus pursuant to Section 5275, subject to the provisions of this chapter.

(f) All appeals to the superior court pursuant to this section shall be subject to de novo review.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5336. Any determination of a person's incapacity to refuse treatment with antipsychotic medication made pursuant to Section 5334 shall remain in effect only for the duration of the detention period described in Section 5150 or 5250, or both, or until capacity has been restored according to standards developed pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 5332, or by court determination, whichever is sooner.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5337. Notwithstanding Section 5257, nothing shall prohibit the filing of a petition for post certification pursuant to Article 6 (commencing with Section 5300) for persons who have been determined to be a danger to others at a certification review hearing.

Article 8 Community Controlled Substances Treatment Services

Welfare and Institutions Code §§ 5340-5344

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5340. It is the intention of the Legislature by enacting this article to provide legal procedures for the custody, evaluation, and treatment of users of controlled substances. The enactment of this article shall not be construed to be evidence that any person subject to its provisions is mentally disordered, or evidence that the Legislature considers that such persons are mentally disordered.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5341. As used in this article, "controlled substances" means those substances referred to in Division 10 (commencing with Section 11000) of the Health and Safety Code.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5342. Where other applicable sections of this part contain the phrase "a danger to himself or herself or others, or gravely disabled," such sections shall be deemed to refer to the condition of danger to self or others or grave disability as a result of the use of controlled substances, rather than by mental disorder, as such.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5343. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, if any person is a danger to others or to himself or herself, or gravely disabled, as a result of the use of controlled substances, he or she shall be subject, insofar as possible, to the provisions of Articles 1 (commencing with Section 5150), 2 (commencing with Section 5200), 4 (commencing with Section 5250), 5 (commencing with Section 5275), and 7 (commencing with Section 5325) of this chapter, except that any custody, evaluation and treatment, or any procedure pursuant to such provisions shall only be related to and concerned with the problem of the person's use of controlled substances.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5344. Any expenditure for the custody, evaluation, treatment, or other procedures for services rendered a person pursuant to this article shall be considered an expenditure made under the provisions of Part 2 (commencing with Section 5600) of this division, and shall be paid as are other expenditures pursuant to that part. No person shall be admitted to a state hospital for care and treatment of his or her use of controlled substances prior to screening and referral by an agency designated in the county Short-Doyle plan to provide the services.

Article 9 The Assisted Outpatient Treatment Demonstration Project Act of 2002

Welfare and Institutions Code §§ 5345-5349.5

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5345. (a) This article shall be known, and may be cited, as Laura's

Law.

(b) "Assisted outpatient treatment" shall be defined as categories

of outpatient services that have been ordered by a court pursuant to

Section 5346 or 5347.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5346. (a) In any county in which services are available as provided

in Section 5348, a court may order a person who is the subject of a

petition filed pursuant to this section to obtain assisted outpatient

treatment if the court finds, by clear and convincing evidence, that

the facts stated in the verified petition filed in accordance with

this section are true and establish that all of the requisite

criteria set forth in this section are met, including, but not

limited to, each of the following:

(1) The person is 18 years of age or older.

(2) The person is suffering from a mental illness as defined in

paragraphs (2) and (3) of subdivision (b) of Section 5600.3.

(3) There has been a clinical determination that the person is

unlikely to survive safely in the community without supervision.

(4) The person has a history of lack of compliance with treatment

for his or her mental illness, in that at least one of the following

is true:

(A) The person's mental illness has, at least twice within the

last 36 months, been a substantial factor in necessitating

hospitalization, or receipt of services in a forensic or other mental

health unit of a state correctional facility or local correctional

facility, not including any period during which the person was

hospitalized or incarcerated immediately preceding the filing of the

petition.

(B) The person's mental illness has resulted in one or more acts

of serious and violent behavior toward himself or herself or another,

or threats, or attempts to cause serious physical harm to himself or

herself or another within the last 48 months, not including any

period in which the person was hospitalized or incarcerated

immediately preceding the filing of the petition.

(5) The person has been offered an opportunity to participate in a

treatment plan by the director of the local mental health

department, or his or her designee, provided the treatment plan

includes all of the services described in Section 5348, and the

person continues to fail to engage in treatment.

(6) The person's condition is substantially deteriorating.

(7) Participation in the assisted outpatient treatment program

would be the least restrictive placement necessary to ensure the

person's recovery and stability.

(8) In view of the person's treatment history and current

behavior, the person is in need of assisted outpatient treatment in

order to prevent a relapse or deterioration that would be likely to

result in grave disability or serious harm to himself or herself, or

to others, as defined in Section 5150.

(9) It is likely that the person will benefit from assisted

outpatient treatment.

(b) (1) A petition for an order authorizing assisted outpatient

treatment may be filed by the county mental health director, or his

or her designee, in the superior court in the county in which the

person who is the subject of the petition is present or reasonably

believed to be present.

(2) A request may be made only by any of the following persons to

the county mental health department for the filing of a petition to

obtain an order authorizing assisted outpatient treatment:

(A) Any person 18 years of age or older with whom the person who

is the subject of the petition resides.

(B) Any person who is the parent, spouse, or sibling or child 18

years of age or older of the person who is the subject of the

petition.

facility, charitable organization, or licensed residential care

facility providing mental health services to the person who is the

subject of the petition in whose institution the subject of the

petition resides.

(D) The director of a hospital in which the person who is the

subject of the petition is hospitalized.

(E) A licensed mental health treatment provider who is either

supervising the treatment of, or treating for a mental illness, the

person who is the subject of the petition.

(F) A peace officer, parole officer, or probation officer assigned

to supervise the person who is the subject of the petition.

(3) Upon receiving a request pursuant to paragraph (2), the county

mental health director shall conduct an investigation into the

appropriateness of the filing of the petition. The director shall

file the petition only if he or she determines that there is a

reasonable likelihood that all the necessary elements to sustain the

petition can be proven in a court of law by clear and convincing

evidence.

(4) The petition shall state all of the following:

(A) Each of the criteria for assisted outpatient treatment as set

forth in subdivision (a).

(B) Facts that support the petitioner's belief that the person who

is the subject of the petition meets each criterion, provided that

the hearing on the petition shall be limited to the stated facts in

the verified petition, and the petition contains all the grounds on

which the petition is based, in order to ensure adequate notice to

the person who is the subject of the petition and his or her counsel.

or is reasonably believed to be present, within the county where the

petition is filed.

(D) That the person who is the subject of the petition has the

right to be represented by counsel in all stages of the proceeding

under the petition, in accordance with subdivision (c).

(5) The petition shall be accompanied by an affidavit of a

licensed mental health treatment provider designated by the local

mental health director who shall state, if applicable, either of the

following:

(A) That the licensed mental health treatment provider has

personally examined the person who is the subject of the petition no

more than 10 days prior to the submission of the petition, the facts

and reasons why the person who is the subject of the petition meets

the criteria in subdivision (a), that the licensed mental health

treatment provider recommends assisted outpatient treatment for the

person who is the subject of the petition, and that the licensed

mental health treatment provider is willing and able to testify at

the hearing on the petition.

(B) That no more than 10 days prior to the filing of the petition,

the licensed mental health treatment provider, or his or her

designee, has made appropriate attempts to elicit the cooperation of

the person who is the subject of the petition, but has not been

successful in persuading that person to submit to an examination,

that the licensed mental health treatment provider has reason to

believe that the person who is the subject of the petition meets the

criteria for assisted outpatient treatment, and that the licensed

mental health treatment provider is willing and able to examine the

person who is the subject of the petition and testify at the hearing

on the petition.

right to be represented by counsel at all stages of a proceeding

commenced under this section. If the person so elects, the court

shall immediately appoint the public defender or other attorney to

assist the person in all stages of the proceedings. The person shall

pay the cost of the legal services if he or she is able.

(d) (1) Upon receipt by the court of a petition submitted pursuant

to subdivision (b), the court shall fix the date for a hearing at a

time not later than five days from the date the petition is received

by the court, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays. The

petitioner shall promptly cause service of a copy of the petition,

together with written notice of the hearing date, to be made

personally on the person who is the subject of the petition, and

shall send a copy of the petition and notice to the county office of

patient rights, and to the current health care provider appointed for

the person who is the subject of the petition, if any such provider

is known to the petitioner. Continuances shall be permitted only for

good cause shown. In granting continuances, the court shall

consider the need for further examination by a physician or the

potential need to provide expeditiously assisted outpatient

treatment. Upon the hearing date, or upon any other date or dates to

which the proceeding may be continued, the court shall hear

testimony. If it is deemed advisable by the court, and if the person

who is the subject of the petition is available and has received

notice pursuant to this section, the court may examine in or out of

court the person who is the subject of the petition who is alleged to

be in need of assisted outpatient treatment. If the person who is

the subject of the petition does not appear at the hearing, and

appropriate attempts to elicit the attendance of the person have

failed, the court may conduct the hearing in the person's absence.

If the hearing is conducted without the person present, the court

shall set forth the factual basis for conducting the hearing without

the person's presence.

(2) The court shall not order assisted outpatient treatment unless

an examining licensed mental health treatment provider, who has

personally examined, and has reviewed the available treatment history

of, the person who is the subject of the petition within the time

period commencing 10 days before the filing of the petition,

testifies in person at the hearing.

(3) If the person who is the subject of the petition has refused

to be examined by a licensed mental health treatment provider, the

court may request that the person consent to an examination by a

licensed mental health treatment provider appointed by the court. If

the person who is the subject of the petition does not consent and

the court finds reasonable cause to believe that the allegations in

the petition are true, the court may order any person designated

under Section 5150 to take into custody the person who is the subject

of the petition and transport him or her, or cause him or her to be

transported, to a hospital for examination by a licensed mental

health treatment provider as soon as is practicable. Detention of

the person who is the subject of the petition under the order may not

exceed 72 hours. If the examination is performed by another

licensed mental health treatment provider, the examining licensed

mental health treatment provider may consult with the licensed mental

health treatment provider whose affirmation or affidavit accompanied

the petition regarding the issues of whether the allegations in the

petition are true and whether the person meets the criteria for

assisted outpatient treatment.

(4) The person who is the subject of the petition shall have all

of the following rights:

(A) To adequate notice of the hearings to the person who is the

subject of the petition, as well as to parties designated by the

person who is the subject of the petition.

(B) To receive a copy of the court-ordered evaluation.

shall appoint a public defender.

(D) To be informed of his or her right to judicial review by

habeas corpus.

(E) To be present at the hearing unless he or she waives the right

to be present.

(F) To present evidence.

(G) To call witnesses on his or her behalf.

(H) To cross-examine witnesses.

(I) To appeal decisions, and to be informed of his or her right to

appeal.

(5) (A) If after hearing all relevant evidence, the court finds

that the person who is the subject of the petition does not meet the

criteria for assisted outpatient treatment, the court shall dismiss

the petition.

(B) If after hearing all relevant evidence, the court finds that

the person who is the subject of the petition meets the criteria for

assisted outpatient treatment, and there is no appropriate and

feasible less restrictive alternative, the court may order the person

who is the subject of the petition to receive assisted outpatient

treatment for an initial period not to exceed six months. In

fashioning the order, the court shall specify that the proposed

treatment is the least restrictive treatment appropriate and feasible

for the person who is the subject of the petition. The order shall

state the categories of assisted outpatient treatment, as set forth

in Section 5348, that the person who is the subject of the petition

is to receive, and the court may not order treatment that has not

been recommended by the examining licensed mental health treatment

provider and included in the written treatment plan for assisted

outpatient treatment as required by subdivision (e). If the person

has executed an advance health care directive pursuant to Chapter 2

(commencing with Section 4650) of Part 1 of Division 4.7 of the

Probate Code, any directions included in the advance health care

directive shall be considered in formulating the written treatment

plan.

(6) If the person who is the subject of a petition for an order

for assisted outpatient treatment pursuant to subparagraph (B) of

paragraph (5) of subdivision (d) refuses to participate in the

assisted outpatient treatment program, the court may order the person

to meet with the assisted outpatient treatment team designated by

the director of the assisted outpatient treatment program. The

treatment team shall attempt to gain the person's cooperation with

treatment ordered by the court. The person may be subject to a

72-hour hold pursuant to subdivision (f) only after the treatment

team has attempted to gain the person's cooperation with treatment

ordered by the court, and has been unable to do so.

(e) Assisted outpatient treatment shall not be ordered unless the

licensed mental health treatment provider recommending assisted

outpatient treatment to the court has submitted to the court a

written treatment plan that includes services as set forth in Section

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5348, and the court finds, in consultation with the county mental

health director, or his or her designee, all of the following:

(1) That the services are available from the county, or a provider

approved by the county, for the duration of the court order.

(2) That the services have been offered to the person by the local

director of mental health, or his or her designee, and the person

has been given an opportunity to participate on a voluntary basis,

and the person has failed to engage in, or has refused, treatment.

(3) That all of the elements of the petition required by this

article have been met.

(4) That the treatment plan will be delivered to the county

director of mental health, or to his or her appropriate designee.

(f) If, in the clinical judgment of a licensed mental health

treatment provider, the person who is the subject of the petition has

failed or has refused to comply with the treatment ordered by the

court, and, in the clinical judgment of the licensed mental health

treatment provider, efforts were made to solicit compliance, and, in

the clinical judgment of the licensed mental health treatment

provider, the person may be in need of involuntary admission to a

hospital for evaluation, the provider may request that persons

designated under Section 5150 take into custody the person who is the

subject of the petition and transport him or her, or cause him or

her to be transported, to a hospital, to be held up to 72 hours for

examination by a licensed mental health treatment provider to

determine if the person is in need of treatment pursuant to Section

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5150. Any continued involuntary retention in a hospital beyond the

initial 72-hour period shall be pursuant to Section 5150. If at any

time during the 72-hour period the person is determined not to meet

the criteria of Section 5150, and does not agree to stay in the

hospital as a voluntary patient, he or she shall be released and any

subsequent involuntary detention in a hospital shall be pursuant to

Section 5150. Failure to comply with an order of assisted outpatient

treatment alone may not be grounds for involuntary civil commitment

or a finding that the person who is the subject of the petition is in

contempt of court.

(g) If the director of the assisted outpatient treatment program

determines that the condition of the patient requires further

assisted outpatient treatment, the director shall apply to the court,

prior to the expiration of the period of the initial assisted

outpatient treatment order, for an order authorizing continued

assisted outpatient treatment for a period not to exceed 180 days

from the date of the order. The procedures for obtaining any order

pursuant to this subdivision shall be in accordance with subdivisions

(a) to (f), inclusive. The period for further involuntary

outpatient treatment authorized by any subsequent order under this

subdivision may not exceed 180 days from the date of the order.

(h) At intervals of not less than 60 days during an assisted

outpatient treatment order, the director of the outpatient treatment

program shall file an affidavit with the court that ordered the

outpatient treatment affirming that the person who is the subject of

the order continues to meet the criteria for assisted outpatient

treatment. At these times, the person who is the subject of the

order shall have the right to a hearing on whether or not he or she

still meets the criteria for assisted outpatient treatment if he or

she disagrees with the director's affidavit. The burden of proof

shall be on the director.

(i) During each 60-day period specified in subdivision (h), if the

person who is the subject of the order believes that he or she is

being wrongfully retained in the assisted outpatient treatment

program against his or her wishes, he or she may file a petition for

a writ of habeas corpus, thus requiring the director of the assisted

outpatient treatment program to prove that the person who is the

subject of the order continues to meet the criteria for assisted

outpatient treatment.

(j) Any person ordered to undergo assisted outpatient treatment

pursuant to this article, who was not present at the hearing at which

the order was issued, may immediately petition the court for a writ

of habeas corpus. Treatment under the order for assisted outpatient

treatment may not commence until the resolution of that petition.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5347. (a) In any county in which services are available pursuant to

Section 5348, any person who is determined by the court to be

subject to subdivision (a) of Section 5346 may voluntarily enter into

an agreement for services under this section.

(b) (1) After a petition for an order for assisted outpatient

treatment is filed, but before the conclusion of the hearing on the

petition, the person who is the subject of the petition, or the

person's legal counsel with the person's consent, may waive the right

to an assisted outpatient treatment hearing for the purpose of

obtaining treatment under a settlement agreement, provided that an

examining licensed mental health treatment provider states that the

person can survive safely in the community. The settlement agreement

may not exceed 180 days in duration and shall be agreed to by all

parties.

(2) The settlement agreement shall be in writing, shall be

approved by the court, and shall include a treatment plan developed

by the community-based program that will provide services that

provide treatment in the least restrictive manner consistent with the

needs of the person who is the subject of the petition.

(3) Either party may request that the court modify the treatment

plan at any time during the 180-day period.

(4) The court shall designate the appropriate county department to

monitor the person's treatment under, and compliance with, the

settlement agreement. If the person fails to comply with the

treatment according to the agreement, the designated county

department shall notify the counsel designated by the county and the

person's counsel of the person's noncompliance.

(5) A settlement agreement approved by the court pursuant to this

section shall have the same force and effect as an order for assisted

outpatient treatment pursuant to Section 5346.

(6) At a hearing on the issue of noncompliance with the agreement,

the written statement of noncompliance submitted shall be prima

facie evidence that a violation of the conditions of the agreement

has occurred. If the person who is the subject of the petition

denies any of the facts as stated in the statement, he or she has the

burden of proving by a preponderance of the evidence that the

alleged facts are false.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5348. (a) For purposes of subdivision (e) of Section 5346, any

county that chooses to provide assisted outpatient treatment services

pursuant to this article shall offer assisted outpatient treatment

services including, but not limited to, all of the following:

(1) Community-based, mobile, multidisciplinary, highly trained

mental health teams that use high staff-to-client ratios of no more

than 10 clients per team member for those subject to court-ordered

services pursuant to Section 5346.

(2) A service planning and delivery process that includes the

following:

(A) Determination of the numbers of persons to be served and the

programs and services that will be provided to meet their needs. The

local director of mental health shall consult with the sheriff, the

police chief, the probation officer, the mental health board,

contract agencies, and family, client, ethnic, and citizen

constituency groups as determined by the director.

(B) Plans for services, including outreach to families whose

severely mentally ill adult is living with them, design of mental

health services, coordination and access to medications, psychiatric

and psychological services, substance abuse services, supportive

housing or other housing assistance, vocational rehabilitation, and

veterans' services. Plans shall also contain evaluation strategies,

that shall consider cultural, linguistic, gender, age, and special

needs of minorities and those based on any characteristic listed or

defined in Section 11135 of the Government Code in the target

populations. Provision shall be made for staff with the cultural

background and linguistic skills necessary to remove barriers to

mental health services as a result of having limited-English-speaking

ability and cultural differences. Recipients of outreach services

may include families, the public, primary care physicians, and others

who are likely to come into contact with individuals who may be

suffering from an untreated severe mental illness who would be likely

to become homeless if the illness continued to be untreated for a

substantial period of time. Outreach to adults may include adults

voluntarily or involuntarily hospitalized as a result of a severe

mental illness.

physically disabled.

(D) Provision for services to meet the special needs of older

adults.

(E) Provision for family support and consultation services,

parenting support and consultation services, and peer support or

self-help group support, where appropriate.

(F) Provision for services to be client-directed and that employ

psychosocial rehabilitation and recovery principles.

(G) Provision for psychiatric and psychological services that are

integrated with other services and for psychiatric and psychological

collaboration in overall service planning.

(H) Provision for services specifically directed to seriously

mentally ill young adults 25 years of age or younger who are homeless

or at significant risk of becoming homeless. These provisions may

include continuation of services that would still be received through

other funds had eligibility not been terminated as a result of age.

(I) Services reflecting special needs of women from diverse

cultural backgrounds, including supportive housing that accepts

children, personal services coordinator therapeutic treatment, and

substance treatment programs that address gender specific trauma and

abuse in the lives of persons with mental illness, and vocational

rehabilitation programs that offer job training programs free of

gender bias and sensitive to the needs of women.

(J) Provision for housing for clients that is immediate,

transitional, permanent, or all of these.

(K) Provision for clients who have been suffering from an

untreated severe mental illness for less than one year, and who do

not require the full range of services, but are at risk of becoming

homeless unless a comprehensive individual and family support

services plan is implemented. These clients shall be served in a

manner that is designed to meet their needs.

(3) Each client shall have a clearly designated mental health

personal services coordinator who may be part of a multidisciplinary

treatment team who is responsible for providing or assuring needed

services. Responsibilities include complete assessment of the client'

s needs, development of the client's personal services plan, linkage

with all appropriate community services, monitoring of the quality

and follow through of services, and necessary advocacy to ensure each

client receives those services which are agreed to in the personal

services plan. Each client shall participate in the development of

his or her personal services plan, and responsible staff shall

consult with the designated conservator, if one has been appointed,

and, with the consent of the client, shall consult with the family

and other significant persons as appropriate.

(4) The individual personal services plan shall ensure that

persons subject to assisted outpatient treatment programs receive

age, gender, and culturally appropriate services, to the extent

feasible, that are designed to enable recipients to:

(A) Live in the most independent, least restrictive housing

feasible in the local community, and, for clients with children, to

live in a supportive housing environment that strives for

reunification with their children or assists clients in maintaining

custody of their children as is appropriate.

(B) Engage in the highest level of work or productive activity

appropriate to their abilities and experience.

family, and participation in community activities.

(D) Access an appropriate level of academic education or

vocational training.

(E) Obtain an adequate income.

(F) Self-manage their illnesses and exert as much control as

possible over both the day-to-day and long-term decisions that affect

their lives.

(G) Access necessary physical health care and maintain the best

possible physical health.

(H) Reduce or eliminate serious antisocial or criminal behavior,

and thereby reduce or eliminate their contact with the criminal

justice system.

(I) Reduce or eliminate the distress caused by the symptoms of

mental illness.

(J) Have freedom from dangerous addictive substances.

(5) The individual personal services plan shall describe the

service array that meets the requirements of paragraph (4), and to

the extent applicable to the individual, the requirements of

paragraph (2).

(b) Any county that provides assisted outpatient treatment

services pursuant to this article also shall offer the same services

on a voluntary basis.

order by the court pursuant to Sections 5332 to 5336, inclusive.

(d) Each county that operates an assisted outpatient treatment

program pursuant to this article shall provide data to the State

Department of Mental Health and, based on the data, the department

shall report to the Legislature on or before May 1 of each year in

which the county provides services pursuant to this article. The

report shall include, at a minimum, an evaluation of the

effectiveness of the strategies employed by each program operated

pursuant to this article in reducing homelessness and hospitalization

of persons in the program and in reducing involvement with local law

enforcement by persons in the program. The evaluation and report

shall also include any other measures identified by the department

regarding persons in the program and all of the following, based on

information that is available:

(1) The number of persons served by the program and, of those, the

number who are able to maintain housing and the number who maintain

contact with the treatment system.

(2) The number of persons in the program with contacts with local

law enforcement, and the extent to which local and state

incarceration of persons in the program has been reduced or avoided.

(3) The number of persons in the program participating in

employment services programs, including competitive employment.

(4) The days of hospitalization of persons in the program that

have been reduced or avoided.

(5) Adherence to prescribed treatment by persons in the program.

(6) Other indicators of successful engagement, if any, by persons

in the program.

(7) Victimization of persons in the program.

(8) Violent behavior of persons in the program.

(9) Substance abuse by persons in the program.

(10) Type, intensity, and frequency of treatment of persons in the

program.

(11) Extent to which enforcement mechanisms are used by the

program, when applicable.

(12) Social functioning of persons in the program.

(13) Skills in independent living of persons in the program.

(14) Satisfaction with program services both by those receiving

them and by their families, when relevant.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5349. This article shall be operative in those counties in which

the county board of supervisors, by resolution, authorizes its

application and makes a finding that no voluntary mental health

program serving adults, and no children's mental health program, may

be reduced as a result of the implementation of this article.

Compliance with this section shall be monitored by the State

Department of Mental Health as part of its review and approval of

county Short-Doyle plans.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5349.1. (a) Counties that elect to implement this article, shall,

in consultation with the department, client and family advocacy

organizations, and other stakeholders, develop a training and

education program for purposes of improving the delivery of services

to mentally ill individuals who are, or who are at risk of being,

involuntarily committed under this part. This training shall be

provided to mental health treatment providers contracting with

participating counties and to other individuals, including, but not

limited to, mental health professionals, law enforcement officials,

and certification hearing officers involved in making treatment and

involuntary commitment decisions.

(b) The training shall include both of the following:

(1) Information relative to legal requirements for detaining a

person for involuntary inpatient and outpatient treatment, including

criteria to be considered with respect to determining if a person is

considered to be gravely disabled.

(2) Methods for ensuring that decisions regarding involuntary

treatment as provided for in this part direct patients toward the

most effective treatment. Training shall include an emphasis on each

patient's right to provide informed consent to assistance.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5349.5. (a) This article shall remain in effect only until January

1, 2013, and as of that date is repealed, unless a later enacted

statute that is enacted on or before January 1, 2013, deletes or

extends that date.

(b) The State Department of Mental Health shall submit a report

and evaluation of all counties implementing any component of this

article to the Governor and to the Legislature by July 31, 2011. The

evaluation shall include data described in subdivision (d) of Section

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5348.

CHAPTER 3. CONSERVATORSHIP FOR GRAVELY DISABLED PERSONS

Welfare and Institutions Code §§ 5350-5372

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5350. A conservator of the person, of the estate, or of the person and the estate may be appointed for any person who is gravely disabled as a result of mental disorder or impairment by chronic alcoholism.

The procedure for establishing, administering, and terminating a conservatorship under this chapter shall be the same as that provided in Division 4 (commencing with Section 1400) of the Probate Code, except as follows:

(a) A conservator may be appointed for a gravely disabled minor.

(b) (1) Appointment of a conservator under this part, including the appointment of a conservator for a person who is gravely disabled, as defined in subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (h) of Section 5008, shall be subject to the list of priorities in Section 1812 of the Probate Code unless the officer providing conservatorship investigation recommends otherwise to the superior court.

(2) In appointing a conservator, as defined in subparagraph (B) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (h) of Section 5008, the court shall consider the purposes of protection of the public and the treatment of the conservatee. Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, the court shall not appoint the proposed conservator if the court determines that appointment of the proposed conservator will not result in adequate protection of the public.

(c) No conservatorship of the estate pursuant to this chapter shall be established if a conservatorship or guardianship of the estate exists under the Probate Code. When a gravely disabled person already has a guardian or conservator of the person appointed under the Probate Code, the proceedings under this chapter shall not terminate the prior proceedings but shall be concurrent with and superior thereto. The superior court may appoint the existing guardian or conservator of the person or another person as conservator of the person under this chapter.

(d) The person for whom conservatorship is sought shall have the right to demand a court or jury trial on the issue whether he or she is gravely disabled. Demand for court or jury trial shall be made within five days following the hearing on the conservatorship petition. If the proposed conservatee demands a court or jury trial before the date of the hearing as provided for in Section 5365, the demand shall constitute a waiver of the hearing.

Court or jury trial shall commence within 10 days of the date of the demand, except that the court shall continue the trial date for a period not to exceed 15 days upon the request of counsel for the proposed conservatee.

This right shall also apply in subsequent proceedings to reestablish conservatorship.

(e) (1) Notwithstanding subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (h) of Section 5008, a person is not "gravely disabled" if that person can survive safely without involuntary detention with the help of responsible family, friends, or others who are both willing and able to help provide for the person's basic personal needs for food, clothing, or shelter.

(2) However, unless they specifically indicate in writing their willingness and ability to help, family, friends, or others shall not be considered willing or able to provide this help.

(3) The purpose of this subdivision is to avoid the necessity for, and the harmful effects of, requiring family, friends, and others to publicly state, and requiring the court to publicly find, that no one is willing or able to assist the mentally disordered person in providing for the person's basic needs for food, clothing, or shelter.

(4) This subdivision does not apply to a person who is gravely disabled, as defined in subparagraph (B) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (h) of Section 5008.

(f) Conservatorship investigation shall be conducted pursuant to this part and shall not be subject to Section 1826 or Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 1850) of Part 3 of Division 4 of the Probate Code.

(g) Notice of proceedings under this chapter shall be given to a guardian or conservator of the person or estate of the proposed conservatee appointed under the Probate Code.

(h) As otherwise provided in this chapter.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5350.1. The purpose of conservatorship, as provided for in this article, is to provide individualized treatment, supervision, and placement.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5350.2. Reasonable attempts shall be made by the county mental health program to notify family members or any other person designated by the person for whom conservatorship is sought, of the time and place of the conservatorship hearing. The person for whom the conservatorship is sought shall be advised by the facility treating the person that he or she may request that information about the time and place of the conservatorship hearing not be given to family members, in those circumstances where the proposed conservator is not a family member. The request shall be honored by the mental health program. Neither this section nor Section 5350 shall be interpreted to allow the proposed conservatee to request that any proposed conservator not be advised of the time and place of the conservatorship hearing.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5351. In each county or counties acting jointly under the provisions of Article 1 (commencing with Section 6500) of Chapter 5 of Division 7 of Title 1 of the Government Code, the governing board shall designate the agency or agencies to provide conservatorship investigation as set forth in this chapter. The governing board may designate that conservatorship services be provided by the public guardian or agency providing public guardian services.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5352. When the professional person in charge of an agency providing comprehensive evaluation or a facility providing intensive treatment determines that a person in his care is gravely disabled as a result of mental disorder or impairment by chronic alcoholism and is unwilling to accept, or incapable of accepting, treatment voluntarily, he may recommend conservatorship to the officer providing conservatorship investigation of the county of residence of the person prior to his admission as a patient in such facility.

The professional person in charge of an agency providing comprehensive evaluation or a facility providing intensive treatment may recommend conservatorship for a person without the person being an inpatient in such facility, if both of the following conditions are met: (a) the professional person or another professional person designated by him has examined and evaluated the person and determined that he is gravely disabled; (b) the professional person or another professional person designated by him has determined that future examination on an inpatient basis is not necessary for a determination that the person is gravely disabled.

If the officer providing conservatorship investigation concurs with the recommendation, he shall petition the superior court in the county of residence of the patient to establish conservatorship.

Where temporary conservatorship is indicated, the fact shall be alternatively pleaded in the petition. The officer providing conservatorship investigation or other county officer or employee designated by the county shall act as the temporary conservator.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5352.1. The court may establish a temporary conservatorship for a period not to exceed 30 days and appoint a temporary conservator on the basis of the comprehensive report of the officer providing conservatorship investigation filed pursuant to Section 5354, or on the basis of an affidavit of the professional person who recommended conservatorship stating the reasons for his recommendation, if the court is satisfied that such comprehensive report or affidavit show the necessity for a temporary conservatorship.

Except as provided in this section, all temporary conservatorships shall expire automatically at the conclusion of 30 days, unless prior to that date the court shall conduct a hearing on the issue of whether or not the proposed conservatee is gravely disabled as defined in subdivision (h) of Section 5008.

If the proposed conservatee demands a court or jury trial on the issue whether he is gravely disabled, the court may extend the temporary conservatorship until the date of the disposition of the issue by the court or jury trial, provided that such extension shall in no event exceed a period of six months.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5352.2. Where the duly designated officer providing conservatorship investigation is a public guardian, his official oath and bond as public guardian are in lieu of any other bond or oath on the grant of temporary letters of conservatorship to him.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5352.3. If the professional person in charge of the facility providing intensive treatment recommends conservatorship pursuant to Section 5352, the proposed conservatee may be held in that facility for a period not to exceed three days beyond the designated period for intensive treatment if the additional time period is necessary for a filing of the petition for temporary conservatorship and the establishment of the temporary conservatorship by the court. The involuntary detention period for gravely disabled persons pursuant to Sections 5150, 5250, and 5170.15 shall not exceed 47 days unless continuance is granted.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5352.4. If a conservatee appeals the court's decision to establish conservatorship, the conservatorship shall continue unless execution of judgment is stayed by the appellate court.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5352.5. Conservatorship proceedings may be initiated for any person committed to a state hospital or local mental health facility or placed on outpatient treatment pursuant to Section 1026 or 1370 of the Penal Code or transferred pursuant to Section 4011.6 of the Penal Code upon recommendation of the medical director of the state hospital, or a designee, or professional person in charge of the local mental health facility, or a designee, or the local mental health director, or a designee, to the conservatorship investigator of the county of residence of the person prior to his or her admission to the hospital or facility or of the county in which the hospital or facility is located. The initiation of conservatorship proceedings or the existence of a conservatorship shall not affect any pending criminal proceedings.

Subject to the provisions of Sections 5150 and 5250, conservatorship proceedings may be initiated for any person convicted of a felony who has been transferred to a state hospital under the jurisdiction of the State Department of Mental Health pursuant to Section 2684 of the Penal Code by the recommendation of the medical director of the state hospital to the conservatorship investigator of the county of residence of the person or of the county in which the state hospital is located.

Subject to the provisions of Sections 5150 and 5250, conservatorship proceedings may be initiated for any person committed to the Youth Authority, or on parole from a facility of the Youth Authority, by the Director of the Department of the Youth Authority or a designee, to the conservatorship investigator of the county of residence of the person or of the county in which the facility is situated.

The county mental health program providing conservatorship investigation services and conservatorship case management services for any persons except those transferred pursuant to Section 4011.6 of the Penal Code shall be reimbursed for the expenditures made by it for the services pursuant to the Short-Doyle Act (commencing with Section 5600) at 100 percent of the expenditures. Each county Short-Doyle plan shall include provision for the services in the plan.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5352.6. Within 10 days after conservatorship of the person has been established under the provisions of this article, there shall be an individualized treatment plan unless treatment is specifically found not to be appropriate by the court. The treatment plan shall be developed by the Short-Doyle Act community mental health service, the staff of a facility operating under a contract to provide such services in the individual's county of residence, or the staff of a health facility licensed pursuant to Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 1250) of Division 2 of the Health and Safety Code to provide inpatient psychiatric treatment. The person responsible for developing the treatment plan shall encourage the participation of the client and the client's family members, when appropriate, in the development, implementation, revision, and review of the treatment plan. The individualized treatment plan shall specify goals for the individual's treatment, the criteria by which accomplishment of the goals can be judged, and a plan for review of the progress of treatment. The goals of the treatment plan shall be equivalent to reducing or eliminating the behavioral manifestations of grave disability. If a treatment plan is not developed as provided herein then the matter shall be referred to the court by the Short-Doyle Act community mental health service, or the staff of a facility operating under a contract to provide such services, or the conservator, or the attorney of record for the conservatee.

When the progress review determines that the goals have been reached and the person is no longer gravely disabled, a person designated by the county shall so report to the court and the conservatorship shall be terminated by the court.

If the conservator fails to report to the court that the person is no longer gravely disabled as provided herein, then the matter shall be referred to the court by the Short-Doyle Act community mental health service, or the staff of a facility operating under a contract to provide such services, or the attorney of record for the conservatee.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5353. A temporary conservator under this chapter shall determine what arrangements are necessary to provide the person with food, shelter, and care pending the determination of conservatorship. He shall give preference to arrangements which allow the person to return to his home, family or friends. If necessary, the temporary conservator may require the person to be detained in a facility providing intensive treatment or in a facility specified in Section 5358 pending the determination of conservatorship. Any person so detained shall have the same right to judicial review set forth in Article 5 (commencing with Section 5275) of Chapter 2 of this part.

The powers of the temporary conservator shall be those granted in the decree, but in no event may they be broader than the powers which may be granted a conservator.

The court shall order the temporary conservator to take all reasonable steps to preserve the status quo concerning the conservatee's previous place of residence. The temporary conservator shall not be permitted to sell or relinquish on the conservatee's behalf any estate or interest in any real or personal property, including any lease or estate in real or personal property used as or within the conservatee's place of residence, without specific approval of the court, which may be granted only upon a finding based on a preponderance of the evidence that such action is necessary to avert irreparable harm to the conservatee. A finding of irreparable harm as to real property may be based upon a reasonable showing that such real property is vacant, that it cannot reasonably be rented, and that it is impossible or impractical to obtain fire or liability insurance on such property.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5354. The officer providing conservatorship investigation shall investigate all available alternatives to conservatorship and shall recommend conservatorship to the court only if no suitable alternatives are available. This officer shall render to the court a written report of investigation prior to the hearing. The report to the court shall be comprehensive and shall contain all relevant aspects of the person's medical, psychological, financial, family, vocational and social condition, and information obtained from the person's family members, close friends, social worker or principal therapist. The report shall also contain all available information concerning the person's real and personal property. The facilities providing intensive treatment or comprehensive evaluation shall disclose any records or information which may facilitate the investigation. If the officer providing conservatorship investigation recommends against conservatorship, he or she shall set forth all alternatives available. A copy of the report shall be transmitted to the individual who originally recommended conservatorship, to the person or agency, if any, recommended to serve as conservator, and to the person recommended for conservatorship. The court may receive the report in evidence and may read and consider the contents thereof in rendering its judgment.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5354.5. Except as otherwise provided in this section, the person recommended to serve as conservator shall promptly notify the officer providing conservatorship investigation whether he or she will accept the position if appointed. If notified that the person or agency recommended will not accept the position if appointed, the officer providing conservatorship investigation shall promptly recommend another person to serve as conservator.

The public guardian shall serve as conservator of any person found by a court under this chapter to be gravely disabled, if the court recommends the conservatorship after a conservatorship investigation, and if the court finds that no other person or entity is willing and able to serve as conservator.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5355. If the conservatorship investigation results in a recommendation for conservatorship, the recommendation shall designate the most suitable person, corporation, state or local agency or county officer, or employee designated by the county to serve as conservator. No person, corporation, or agency shall be designated as conservator whose interests, activities, obligations or responsibilities are such as to compromise his or their ability to represent and safeguard the interests of the conservatee. Nothing in this section shall be construed to prevent the State Department of Mental Health from serving as guardian pursuant to Section 7284, or the function of the conservatorship investigator and conservator being exercised by the same public officer or employee.

When a public guardian is appointed conservator, his official bond and oath as public guardian are in lieu of the conservator's bond and oath on the grant of letters of conservatorship. No bond shall be required of any other public officer or employee appointed to serve as conservator.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5356. The report of the officer providing conservatorship investigation shall contain his or her recommendations concerning the powers to be granted to, and the duties to be imposed upon the conservator, the legal disabilities to be imposed upon the conservatee, and the proper placement for the conservatee pursuant to Section 5358. Except as provided in this section, the report to the court shall also contain an agreement signed by the person or agency recommended to serve as conservator certifying that the person or agency is able and willing to serve as conservator. The public guardian shall serve as conservator of any person found by a court under this chapter to be gravely disabled, if the court recommends the conservatorship after a conservatorship investigation, and if the court finds that no other person or entity is willing and able to serve as conservator.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5357. All conservators of the estate shall have the general powers specified in Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 2400) of Part 4 of Division 4 of the Probate Code and shall have the additional powers specified in Article 11 (commencing with Section 2590) of Chapter 6 of Part 4 of Division 4 of the Probate Code as the court may designate. The report shall set forth which, if any, of the additional powers it recommends. The report shall also recommend for or against the imposition of each of the following disabilities on the proposed conservatee:

(a) The privilege of possessing a license to operate a motor vehicle. If the report recommends against this right and if the court follows the recommendation, the agency providing conservatorship investigation shall, upon the appointment of the conservator, so notify the Department of Motor Vehicles.

(b) The right to enter into contracts. The officer may recommend against the person having the right to enter specified types of transactions or transactions in excess of specified money amounts.

(d) The right to refuse or consent to treatment related specifically to the conservatee's being gravely disabled. The conservatee shall retain all rights specified in Section 5325.

(e) The right to refuse or consent to routine medical treatment unrelated to remedying or preventing the recurrence of the conservatee's being gravely disabled. The court shall make a specific determination regarding imposition of this disability.

(f) The disqualification of the person from possessing a firearm pursuant to subdivision (e) of Section 8103.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5358. (a) (1) When ordered by the court after the hearing required by this section, a conservator appointed pursuant to this chapter shall place his or her conservatee as follows:

(A) For a conservatee who is gravely disabled, as defined in subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (h) of Section 5008, in the least restrictive alternative placement, as designated by the court.

(B) For a conservatee who is gravely disabled, as defined in subparagraph (B) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (h) of Section 5008, in a placement that achieves the purposes of treatment of the conservatee and protection of the public.

(2) The placement may include a medical, psychiatric, nursing, or other state-licensed facility, or a state hospital, county hospital, hospital operated by the Regents of the University of California, a United States government hospital, or other nonmedical facility approved by the State Department of Mental Health or an agency accredited by the State Department of Mental Health, or in addition to any of the foregoing, in cases of chronic alcoholism, to a county alcoholic treatment center.

(b) A conservator shall also have the right, if specified in the court order, to require his or her conservatee to receive treatment related specifically to remedying or preventing the recurrence of the conservatee's being gravely disabled, or to require his or her conservatee to receive routine medical treatment unrelated to remedying or preventing the recurrence of the conservatee's being gravely disabled. Except in emergency cases in which the conservatee faces loss of life or serious bodily injury, no surgery shall be performed upon the conservatee without the conservatee's prior consent or a court order obtained pursuant to Section 5358.2 specifically authorizing that surgery.

(c) (1) For a conservatee who is gravely disabled, as defined in subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (h) of Section 5008, if the conservatee is not to be placed in his or her own home or the home of a relative, first priority shall be to placement in a suitable facility as close as possible to his or her home or the home of a relative. For the purposes of this section, suitable facility means the least restrictive residential placement available and necessary to achieve the purpose of treatment. At the time that the court considers the report of the officer providing conservatorship investigation specified in Section 5356, the court shall consider available placement alternatives. After considering all the evidence the court shall determine the least restrictive and most appropriate alternative placement for the conservatee. The court shall also determine those persons to be notified of a change of placement. The fact that a person for whom conservatorship is recommended is not an inpatient shall not be construed by the court as an indication that the person does not meet the criteria of grave disability.

(2) For a conservatee who is gravely disabled, as defined in subparagraph (B) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (h) of Section 5008, first priority shall be placement in a facility that achieves the purposes of treatment of the conservatee and protection of the public. The court shall determine the most appropriate placement for the conservatee. The court shall also determine those persons to be notified of a change of placement, and additionally require the conservator to notify the district attorney or attorney representing the originating county prior to any change of placement.

(3) For any conservatee, if requested, the local mental health director shall assist the conservator or the court in selecting a placement facility for the conservatee. When a conservatee who is receiving services from the local mental health program is placed, the conservator shall inform the local mental health director of the facility's location and any movement of the conservatee to another facility.

(d) (1) Except for a conservatee who is gravely disabled, as defined in subparagraph (B) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (h) of Section 5008, the conservator may transfer his or her conservatee to a less restrictive alternative placement without a further hearing and court approval. In any case in which a conservator has reasonable cause to believe that his or her conservatee is in need of immediate more restrictive placement because the condition of the conservatee has so changed that the conservatee poses an immediate and substantial danger to himself or herself or others, the conservator shall have the right to place his or her conservatee in a more restrictive facility or hospital. Notwithstanding Section 5328, if the change of placement is to a placement more restrictive than the court-determined placement, the conservator shall provide written notice of the change of placement and the reason therefor to the court, the conservatee's attorney, the county patient's rights advocate and any other persons designated by the court pursuant to subdivision (c).

(2) For a conservatee who is gravely disabled, as defined in subparagraph (B) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (h) of Section 5008, the conservator may not transfer his or her conservatee without providing written notice of the proposed change of placement and the reason therefor to the court, the conservatee's attorney, the county patient's rights advocate, the district attorney of the county that made the commitment, and any other persons designated by the court to receive notice. If any person designated to receive notice objects to the proposed transfer within 10 days after receiving notice, the matter shall be set for a further hearing and court approval. The notification and hearing is not required for the transfer of persons between state hospitals.

(3) At a hearing where the conservator is seeking placement to a less restrictive alternative placement pursuant to paragraph (2), the placement shall not be approved where it is determined by a preponderance of the evidence that the placement poses a threat to the safety of the public, the conservatee, or any other individual.

(4) A hearing as to placement to a less restrictive alternative placement, whether requested pursuant to paragraph (2) or pursuant to Section 5358.3, shall be granted no more frequently than is provided for in Section 5358.3.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5358.1. Neither a conservator, temporary conservator, or public guardian appointed pursuant to this chapter, nor a peace officer acting pursuant to Section 5358.5, shall be held civilly or criminally liable for any action by a conservatee.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5358.2. If a conservatee requires medical treatment and the conservator has not been specifically authorized by the court to require the conservatee to receive medical treatment, the conservator shall, after notice to the conservatee, obtain a court order for that medical treatment, except in emergency cases in which the conservatee faces loss of life or serious bodily injury. The conservatee, if he or she chooses to contest the request for a court order, may petition the court for hearing which shall be held prior to granting the order.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5358.3. At any time, a conservatee or any person on his behalf with the consent of the conservatee or his counsel, may petition the court for a hearing to contest the rights denied under Section 5357 or the powers granted to the conservator under Section 5358. However, after the filing of the first petition for hearing pursuant to this section, no further petition for rehearing shall be submitted for a period of six months.

A request for hearing pursuant to this section shall not affect the right of a conservatee to petition the court for a rehearing as to his status as a conservatee pursuant to Section 5364. A hearing pursuant to this section shall not include trial by jury. If a person's right to vote is restored, the court shall so notify the county elections official pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 2210 of the Elections Code.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5358.5. When any conservatee placed into a facility pursuant to this chapter leaves the facility without the approval of the conservator or the person in charge of the facility, or when the conservator appointed pursuant to this chapter deems it necessary to remove his conservatee to the county designated treatment facility, the conservator may take the conservatee into custody and return him to the facility or remove him to the county designated treatment facility. A conservator, at his discretion, may request a peace officer to detain the conservatee and return such person to the facility in which he was placed or to transfer such person to the county designated treatment facility, pursuant to Section 7325 of the Welfare and Institutions Code. Such request shall be in writing and accompanied by a certified copy of the letters of conservatorship showing the person requesting detention and transfer to be the conservator appointed pursuant to this chapter as conservator of the person sought to be detained. Either the conservator or his assistant or deputy may request detention under this section. Whenever possible, persons charged with apprehension of persons pursuant to this section shall dress in plain clothes and shall travel in unmarked vehicles.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5358.6. Any conservator who places his or her conservatee in an inpatient facility pursuant to Section 5358, may also require the conservatee to undergo outpatient treatment. Before doing so, the conservator shall obtain the agreement of the person in charge of a mental health facility that the conservatee will receive outpatient treatment and that the person in charge of the facility will designate a person to be the outpatient supervisor of the conservatee. The person in charge of these facilities shall notify the county mental health director or his or her designee of such agreement. At 90-day intervals following the commencement of the outpatient treatment, the outpatient supervisor shall make a report in writing to the conservator and to the person in charge of the mental health facility setting forth the status and progress of the conservatee.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5358.7. When any conservatee challenges his or her placement or conditions of confinement pursuant to Section 1473 of the Penal Code or Section 7250 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, notwithstanding the continuing jurisdiction of the court which appointed the conservators, judicial review shall be in the county where the conservatorship was established or in the county in which the conservatee is placed or confined. If the conservatee is released as a result of the hearing, he or she shall be returned to the county where the conservatorship originated.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5359. A conservator appointed under this chapter shall find alternative placement for his conservatee within seven days after he is notified by the person in charge of the facility serving the conservatee that the conservatee no longer needs the care or treatment offered by that facility.

If unusual conditions or circumstances preclude alternative placement of the conservatee within seven days, the conservator shall find such placement within 30 days.

If alternative placement cannot be found at the end of the 30-day period the conservator shall confer with the professional person in charge of the facility and they shall then determine the earliest practicable date when such alternative placement may be obtained.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5360. The officer providing conservatorship investigation shall recommend, in his report to the court, for or against imposition of a disability set forth in Section 5357 on the basis of the determination of the professional person who recommended conservatorship pursuant to Section 5352.

The officer providing conservatorship investigation shall recommend in his report any of the additional powers of a conservator set forth in Section 2591 of the Probate Code if the needs of the individual patient or his estate require such powers. In making such determination, the officer providing conservatorship investigation shall consult with the professional person who recommended conservatorship pursuant to Section 5352.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5361. Conservatorship initiated pursuant to this chapter shall automatically terminate one year after the appointment of the conservator by the superior court. The period of service of a temporary conservator shall not be included in the one-year period. Where the conservator has been appointed as conservator of the estate, the conservator shall, for a reasonable time, continue to have such power and authority over the estate as the superior court, on petition by the conservator, may deem necessary for (1) the collection of assets or income which accrued during the period of conservatorship, but were uncollected before the date of termination, (2) the payment of expenses which accrued during period of conservatorship and of which the conservator was notified prior to termination, but were unpaid before the date of termination, and (3) the completion of sales of real property where the only act remaining at the date of termination is the actual transfer of title. If upon the termination of an initial or a succeeding period of conservatorship the conservator determines that conservatorship is still required, he may petition the superior court for his reappointment as conservator for a succeeding one-year period. The petition must include the opinion of two physicians or licensed psychologists who have a doctoral degree in psychology and at least five years of postgraduate experience in the diagnosis and treatment of emotional and mental disorders that the conservatee is still gravely disabled as a result of mental disorder or impairment by chronic alcoholism. In the event that the conservator is unable to obtain the opinion of two physicians or psychologists, he shall request that the court appoint them.

Any facility in which a conservatee is placed must release the conservatee at his request when the conservatorship terminates. A petition for reappointment filed by the conservator or a petition for appointment filed by a public guardian shall be transmitted to the facility at least 30 days before the automatic termination date. The facility may detain the conservatee after the end of the termination date only if the conservatorship proceedings have not been completed and the court orders the conservatee to be held until the proceedings have been completed.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5362. (a) The clerk of the superior court shall notify each conservator, his or her conservatee and the person in charge of the facility in which the person resides, and the conservatee's attorney, at least 60 days before the termination of the one-year period. If the conservator is a private party, the clerk of the superior court shall also notify the mental health director and the county officer providing conservatorship investigation pursuant to Section 5355, at least 60 days before the termination of the one-year period. Notification shall be given in person or by first-class mail. The notification shall be in substantially the following form:

In the Superior Court of the State of California

for the County of _________

The people of the State of California No. _______ Concerning Notice of Termination ____________________ of Conservatorship

The people of the State of California to _____________________________ _____________________________________________________________________: : (conservatee, conservatee's attorney, conservator, and professional person in charge of the facility in which the conservatee resides,

county mental health director, and county officer providing

conservatorship investigation.)

The one-year conservatorship established for __________ pursuant to Welfare and Institutions Code Section _____ on ________ will terminate on ________. If the conservator, _____________, wishes to reestablish conservatorship for another year he or she must petition the court by

_________. Subject to a request for a court hearing by jury trial the judge may, on his or her own motion, accept or reject the conservator' s petition.

If the conservator petitions to reestablish conservatorship the conservatee, the professional person in charge of the facility in which he or she resides, the conservatee's attorney, and, if the conservator is a private party, the county mental health director and the county officer providing conservatorship investigation shall be notified. If any of them request it, there shall be a court hearing or a jury trial, whichever is requested, on the issue of whether the conservatee is still gravely disabled and in need of conservatorship. If the private conservator does not petition for reappointment, the county officer providing conservatorship investigation may recommend another conservator. Such a petition shall be considered a petition for reappointment as conservator.

Clerk of the Superior Court

by _______________________________

Deputy

(b) Subject to a request for a court hearing or jury trial, the judge may, on his or her own motion, accept or reject the conservator' s petition.

If the conservator does not petition to reestablish conservatorship at or before the termination of the one-year period, the court shall issue a decree terminating conservatorship. The decree shall be sent to the conservator and his or her conservatee by first-class mail and shall be accompanied by a statement of California law as set forth in Section 5368.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5363. In the event the conservator continues in good faith to act within the powers granted him in the original decree of conservatorship beyond the one-year period, he may petition for and shall be granted a decree ratifying his acts as conservator beyond the one-year period. The decree shall provide for a retroactive appointment of the conservator to provide continuity of authority in those cases where the conservator did not apply in time for reappointment.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5364. At any time, the conservatee may petition the superior court for a rehearing as to his status as a conservatee. However, after the filing of the first petition for rehearing pursuant to this section, no further petition for rehearing shall be submitted for a period of six months. If the conservatorship is terminated pursuant to this section, the court shall, in accordance with subdivision (c) of Section 2210 of the Elections Code, notify the county elections official that the person's right to register to vote is restored.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5365. A hearing shall be held on all petitions under this chapter within 30 days of the date of the petition. The court shall appoint the public defender or other attorney for the conservatee or proposed conservatee within five days after the date of the petition.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5365.1. The conservatee or proposed conservatee may, upon advice of counsel, waive the presence at any hearing under this chapter of the physician or other professional person who recommended conservatorship pursuant to Section 5352 and of the physician providing evaluation or intensive treatment. In the event of such a waiver, such physician and professional persons shall not be required to be present at the hearing if it is stipulated that the recommendation and records of such physician or other professional person concerning the mental condition and treatment of the conservatee or proposed conservatee will be received in evidence.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5366. On or before June 30, 1970, the medical director of each state hospital for the mentally disordered shall compile a roster of those mentally disordered or chronic alcoholic patients within the institution who are gravely disabled. The roster shall indicate the county from which each such patient was admitted to the hospital or, if the hospital records indicate that the county of residence of the patient is a different county, the county of residence. The officer providing conservatorship investigation for each county shall be given a copy of the names and pertinent records of the patients from that county and shall investigate the need for conservatorship for such patients as provided in this chapter. After his investigation and on or before July 1, 1972, the county officer providing conservatorship shall file a petition of conservatorship for such patients that he determines may need conservatorship. Court commitments under the provisions of law in effect prior to July 1, 1969, of such patients for whom a petition of conservatorship is not filed shall terminate and the patient shall be released unless he agrees to accept treatment on a voluntary basis.

Each state hospital and the State Department of Mental Health shall make their records concerning such patients available to the officer providing conservatorship investigation.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5366.1. Any person detained as of June 30, 1969, under court commitment, in a private institution, a county psychiatric hospital, facility of the Veterans Administration, or other agency of the United States government, community mental health service, or detained in a state hospital or facility of the Veterans Administration upon application of a local health officer, pursuant to former Section 5567 or Sections 6000 to 6019, inclusive, as they read immediately preceding July 1, 1969, may be detained, after January 1, 1972, for a period no longer than 180 days, except as provided in this section.

Any person detained pursuant to this section on the effective date of this section shall be evaluated by the facility designated by the county and approved by the State Department of Mental Health pursuant to Section 5150 as a facility for 72-hour treatment and evaluation. Such evaluation shall be made at the request of the person in charge of the institution in which the person is detained. If in the opinion of the professional person in charge of the evaluation and treatment facility or his designee, the evaluation of the person can be made by such professional person or his designee at the institution in which the person is detained, the person shall not be required to be evaluated at the evaluation and treatment facility, but shall be evaluated at the institution where he is detained, or other place to determine if the person is a danger to others, himself, or gravely disabled as a result of mental disorder.

Any person evaluated under this section shall be released from the institution in which he is detained immediately upon completion of the evaluation if in the opinion of the professional person in charge of the evaluation and treatment facility, or his designee, the person evaluated is not a danger to others, or to himself, or gravely disabled as a result of mental disorder, unless the person agrees voluntarily to remain in the institution in which he has been detained.

If in the opinion of the professional person in charge of the facility or his designee, the person evaluated requires intensive treatment or recommendation for conservatorship, such professional person or his designee shall proceed under Article 4 (commencing with Section 5250) of Chapter 2, or under Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 5350), of Part 1 of Division 5.

If it is determined from the evaluation that the person is gravely disabled and a recommendation for conservatorship is made, and if the petition for conservatorship for such person is not filed by June 30, 1972, the court commitment or detention under a local health officer application for such person shall terminate and the patient shall be released unless he agrees to accept treatment on a voluntary basis.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5367. Conservatorship established under this chapter shall supersede any commitment under former provisions of this code relating to inebriates or the mentally ill.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5368. A person who is no longer a conservatee shall not be presumed to be incompetent by virtue of his having been a conservatee under the provisions of this part.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5369. When a conservatee who has criminal charges pending against him and has been found mentally incompetent under Section 1370 of the Penal Code recovers his mental competence, the conservator shall certify that fact to the court, sheriff, and district attorney of the county in which the criminal charges are pending and to the defendant's attorney of record.

The court shall order the sheriff to immediately return the defendant to the court in which the criminal charges are pending. Within two judicial days of the defendant's return, the court shall hold a hearing to determine whether the defendant is entitled to be admitted to bail or released upon his own recognizance pending conclusion of criminal proceedings.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5370. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a conservatorship proceeding may be initiated pursuant to this chapter for any person who has been charged with an offense, regardless of whether action is pending or has been initiated pursuant to Section 1370 of the Penal Code.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5370.1. The court in which a petition to establish a conservatorship is filed may appoint the county counsel or a private attorney to represent a private conservator in all proceedings connected with the conservatorship, if it appears that the conservator has insufficient funds to obtain the services of a private attorney. Such appointments of the county counsel, however, may be made only if the board of supervisors have, by ordinance or resolution, authorized the county counsel to accept them.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5370.2. (a) Beginning January 1, 1996, the State Department of Mental Health shall contract with a single nonprofit agency that meets the criteria specified in subdivision (b) of Section 5510 to conduct the following activities:

(1) Provide patients' rights advocacy services for, and conduct investigations of alleged or suspected abuse and neglect of, including deaths of, persons with mental disabilities residing in state hospitals.

(2) Investigate and take action as appropriate and necessary to resolve complaints from or concerning recipients of mental health services residing in licensed health or community care facilities regarding abuse, and unreasonable denial, or punitive withholding of rights guaranteed under this division that cannot be resolved by county patients' rights advocates.

(3) Provide consultation, technical assistance, and support to county patients' rights advocates in accordance with their duties under Section 5520.

(4) Conduct program review of patients' rights programs.

(b) The services shall be provided in coordination with the appropriate mental health patients' rights advocates.

(c) (1) The contractor shall develop a plan to provide patients' rights advocacy services for, and conduct investigations of alleged or suspected abuse and neglect of, including the deaths of, persons with mental disabilities residing in state hospitals.

(2) The contractor shall develop the plan in consultation with the statewide organization of mental health patients' rights advocates, the statewide organization of mental health clients, and the statewide organization of family members of persons with mental disabilities, and the statewide organization of county mental health directors.

(3) In order to ensure that persons with mental disabilities have access to high quality advocacy services, the contractor shall establish a grievance procedure and shall advise persons receiving services under the contract of the availability of other advocacy services, including services provided by the protection and advocacy agency specified in Section 4901 and the county patients' rights advocates specified in Section 5520.

(d) Nothing contained in this section shall be construed to restrict or limit the authority of the department to conduct the reviews and investigations it deems necessary for personnel, criminal, and litigation purposes.

(e) The State Department of Mental Health shall contract on a multiyear basis for a contract term of up to three years.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5371. No person upon whom a duty is placed to evaluate, or who, in fact, does evaluate a conservatee for any purpose under this chapter shall have a financial or other beneficial interest in the facility where the conservatee is to be, or has been placed.

Conservatorship investigation and administration shall be conducted independently from any person or agency which provides mental health treatment for conservatees, if it has been demonstrated that the existing arrangement creates a conflict of interest between the treatment needs of the conservatee and the investigation or administration of the conservatorship. The person or agency responsible for the mental health treatment of conservatees shall execute a written agreement or protocol with the conservatorship investigator and administrator for the provision of services to conservatees. The agreement or protocol shall specify the responsibilities of each person or agency who is a party to the agreement or protocol, and shall specify a procedure to resolve disputes or conflicts of interest between agencies or persons.

Welfare and Institutions Code § 5372. (a) The provisions of Section 1051 of the Probate Code shall apply to conservatorships established pursuant to this chapter.

(b) The Judicial Council shall, on or before January 1, 2008, adopt a rule of court to implement this section.