Memorandum
Date: January 9, 2024
To: The Honorable Lake County Board of Supervisors
From: Elise Jones, Director Lake County Behavioral Health Services
Subject: Adopt Resolution of the Lake County Board of Supervisors Deferring Implementation of the Changes Made to Welfare and Institutions Code Section 5008 by Senate Bill 43 (2023-2024 Reg Session).
Executive Summary:
Bill Summary:
SB 43 makes several significant changes to the state's involuntary detention and conservatorship laws under the Lanterman-Petris-Short (LPS) Act by:
* Expanding the state's "gravely disabled" criteria to allow for the involuntary detention and conservatorship of individuals on the basis of a standalone "severe" substance use disorder or co-occurring mental health disorder and severe SUD;
* Expanding the definition of grave disability to include individuals who are unable to provide for their basic personal need for personal safety or necessary medical care;
* Defining "necessary medical care" to mean care that a licensed health care practitioner determines to be necessary to prevent serious deterioration of an existing medical condition which is likely to result in serious bodily injury if left untreated;
* Modifying hearsay evidentiary standards for conservatorship hearings in order to expand the array of testimony that can be submitted into conservatorship proceedings without requiring in-person cross examination; and,
* Requiring counties consider less restrictive alternatives such as assisted outpatient treatment (AOT) and CARE Court in conducting conservatorship investigations.
SB 43 also expands reporting requirements to align with the new criteria and allows counties to delay implementation until January 1, 2026 through adoption of a county board resolution.
What will be needed to implement SB 43?
Counties will need to develop an extensive array of new policies, procedures, workforce, and treatment capacity in order to implement SB 43, which is detailed, in part, belo...
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