Title
Adopt a Resolution to:
Authorize County of Monterey to opt-out of AB1976, Assisted Outpatient Treatment (AOT), also known as Laura's Law.
Report
RECOMMENDATION:
It is recommended that the Board of Supervisors adopt a Resolution to:
Authorize County of Monterey to opt-out of AB1976, Assisted Outpatient Treatment (AOT), also known as Laura's Law.
SUMMARY/DISCUSSION:
In 2002, the California Legislature passed Assembly Bill 1421 (Thomson), also known as Laura's Law. It gives counties the option of implementing involuntary Assisted Outpatient Treatment (AOT) programs for individuals who have difficulty maintaining their mental health stability and have frequent hospitalizations and contact with law enforcement related to untreated or undertreated mental illness.
As defined by California Welfare and Institutions Code sections 5345-5349.5, Laura's Law creates an AOT program that provides court-ordered treatment (not medication) for persons with severe mental illness. Senate Bill 507, approved by the Governor on September 30, 2021, went into effect January 1, 2022 amending Section 5346 and added Section 5346.5 to the Welfare and Institutions Code. SB507 changed the criteria for AOT for persons who meet the following criteria:
1. Must be 18 years of age or older,
2. Is suffering from a mental illness,
3. Clinical determination that at least one of the following is true:
a. Is unlikely to survive safely in the community without supervision and the condition is substantially deteriorating,
b. Is in need of AOT to prevent relapse or deterioration that would likely result in grave disability or serious harm to the person or others as defined in Section 5150,
4. Has a history of lack of compliance with treatment, in that at least one of the following is true:
a. The person, within the last 36 months, has required two psychiatric hospitalizations or placements in a correctional facility due to their mental illness, or
b. The person's mental illness has resulted in...
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