5510-5514
WELFARE AND INSTITUTIONS CODE
SECTION 5510-5514
5510. (a) The Legislature finds and declares as follows: (1) The State of California accepts its responsibility to ensure and uphold the right of persons with mental disabilities and an obligation, to be executed by the State Department of Mental Health, to ensure that mental health laws, regulations and policies on the rights of recipients of mental health services are observed and protected in state hospitals and in licensed health and community care facilities. (2) Persons with mental disabilities are vulnerable to abuse, neglect, and unreasonable and unlawful deprivations of their rights. (3) Patients' rights advocacy and investigative services concerning patient abuse and neglect currently provided by the State Department of Mental Health, including the department's Office of Human Rights and investigator, and state hospital patients' rights advocates and state hospital investigators may have conflicts of interest or the appearance of a conflict of interest. (4) The services provided to patients and their families is of such a special and unique nature that they must be contracted out pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (b) of Section 19130 of the Government Code. (b) Therefore, to avoid the potential for a conflict of interest or the appearance of a conflict of interest, it is the intent of the Legislature that the patients' rights advocacy and investigative services described in this article be provided by a single contractor specified in Section 5370.2 that meets both of the following criteria: (1) The contractor can demonstrate the capability to provide statewide advocacy services for persons with mental disabilities. (2) The contractor has no direct or indirect responsibility for providing services to persons with mental disabilities, except advocacy services. (c) For the purposes of this article, the Legislature further finds and declares, because of a potential conflict of interest or the appearance of a conflict of interest, that the goals and purposes of the state patients' rights advocacy and investigative services cannot be accomplished through the utilization of persons selected pursuant to the regular state civil service system. Accordingly, the contracts into which the department enters pursuant to this section are permitted and authorized by paragraphs (3) and (5) of subdivision (b) of Section 19130 of the Government Code. The State Department of Mental Health shall contract with a single nonprofit entity to provide for the protection and advocacy services to persons with mental disabilities. The entity shall be responsible for ensuring that mental health laws, regulations, and policies on the rights of recipients of mental health services are observed in state hospitals and in licensed health and community care facilities. (d) The findings and declarations of potential conflict of interest provided in this section shall not apply to advocacy services provided under Article 3 (commencing with Section 5520). 5511. The Director of Mental Health or the executive director of each state hospital serving mentally disordered persons may contract with independent persons or agencies to perform patients' rights advocacy services in state hospitals. 5512. Training of county patients' rights advocates shall be provided by the contractor specified in Section 5510 responsible for the provision of protection and advocacy services to persons with mental disabilities. Training shall be directed at ensuring that all county patients' rights advocates possess: (a) Knowledge of the service system, financial entitlements, and service rights of persons receiving mental health services. This knowledge shall include, but need not be limited to, knowledge of available treatment and service resources in order to ensure timely access to treatment and services. (b) Knowledge of patients' rights in institutional and community facilities. (c) Knowledge of civil commitment statutes and procedures. (d) Knowledge of state and federal laws and regulations affecting recipients of mental health services. (e) Ability to work effectively and respectfully with service recipients and providers, public administrators, community groups, and the judicial system. (f) Skill in interviewing and counseling service recipients, including giving information and appropriate referrals. (g) Ability to investigate and assess complaints and screen for legal problems. (h) Knowledge of administrative and judicial due process proceedings in order to provide representation at administrative hearings and to assist in judicial hearings when necessary to carry out the intent of Section 5522 regarding cooperation between advocates and legal representatives. (i) Knowledge of, and commitment to, advocacy ethics and principles. (j) This section shall become operative on January 1, 1996. 5513. The Patients' Rights Office shall serve as a liaison between county patients' rights advocates and the State Department of Mental Health. 5514. There shall be a five-person Patients' Rights Subcommittee of the California Council on Mental Health. This subcommittee, supplemented by two ad hoc members appointed by the chairperson of the subcommittee, shall advise the Director of Mental Health regarding department policies and practices that affect patients' rights. The subcommittee shall also review the advocacy and patients' rights components of each county Short-Doyle plan and advise the Director of Mental Health concerning the adequacy of each plan in protecting patients' rights. The ad hoc members of the subcommittee shall be persons with substantial experience in establishing and providing independent advocacy services to recipients of mental health services.