Amended in Senate August 16, 2016

Amended in Senate June 2, 2016

Amended in Assembly April 4, 2016

California Legislature—2015–16 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 1808

Introduced by Assembly Member Wood

February 8, 2016

An act to amend Section 124260 of the Health and Safety Code, relating to minors.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 1808, as amended, Wood. Minors: mental health treatment or counseling services.

Existing law authorizes a minor who is 12 years of age or older to consent to outpatient mental health treatment or counseling services, notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, if, in the opinion of the attending professional person, the minor is mature enough to participate intelligently in those services. Existing law defines “professional person,” for the purposes of those provisions, to include, among others, a marriage and family therapist, a marriage and family therapist intern, a professional clinical counselor, begin delete and end delete a clinical counselor begin delete intern. end delete begin insert intern, a clinical psychologist, and a clinical social worker, as specified. end insert

This bill would additionally authorize a marriage and family therapist begin delete trainee and end delete begin insert trainee, end insert a clinical counselor trainee, begin insert a registered psychologist, a registered psychological assistant, a psychology trainee, an associate clinical social worker, and a social work intern, end insert while working under the supervision of certain licensed professionals, begin insert respectively, end insert to provide those services. The bill would require the marriage and family therapist begin delete trainee or end delete begin insert trainee, end insert the clinical counselor begin delete trainee end delete begin insert trainee, the psychology trainee, or the social work intern end insert to notify his or her supervisor or an on-call supervisor, as specified, at the site where the trainee begin insert or intern end insert volunteers or is employed within 24 hours of treating or counseling a minor. The bill would require the begin delete trainee, end delete begin insert trainee or intern, end insert if upon the initial assessment of the minor the trainee begin insert or intern end insert believes that the minor is a danger to self or to others, to notify the supervisor, as specified, immediately after the treatment or counseling session. The bill would also begin insert change the definition of clinical psychologist for these purposes and would end insert make a technical, nonsubstantive change.

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: no. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.  

Section 124260 of the Health and Safety Code
is amended to read:

124260.  

(a) As used in this section:

(1) “Mental health treatment or counseling services” means the
provision of outpatient mental health treatment or counseling by
a professional person, as defined in paragraph (2).

(2) “Professional person” means any of the following:

(A) A person designated as a mental health professional in
Sections 622 to 626, inclusive, of Title 9 of the California Code
of Regulations.

(B) A marriage and family therapist, as defined in Chapter 13
(commencing with Section 4980) of Division 2 of the Business
and Professions Code.

(C) A licensed educational psychologist, as defined in Chapter
13.5 (commencing with Section 4989.10) of Division 2 of the
Business and Professions Code.

(D) A credentialed school psychologist, as described in Section
49424 of the Education Code.

(E) A clinical begin delete psychologist, as defined in Section 1316.5 of the
Health and Safety Code. end delete begin insert psychologist licensed under Chapter 6.6
(commencing with Section 2900) of Division 2 of the Business and
Professions Code. end insert

begin insert

(F) Any of the following persons, while working under the
supervision of a licensed professional specified in Section 2902
of the Business and Professions Code:

end insert begin insert

(i) A registered psychologist, as defined in Section 2909.5 of
the Business and Professions Code.

end insert begin insert

(ii) A registered psychological assistant, as defined in Section
2913 of the Business and Professions Code.

end insert begin insert

(iii) A psychology trainee, as defined in Section 1387 of Title
16 of the California Code of Regulations.

end insert begin delete

(F)

end delete

begin insert (G) end insert  A licensed clinical social worker, as defined in Chapter 14
(commencing with Section 4991) of Division 2 of the Business
and Professions Code.

begin insert

(H) An associate clinical social worker, or a social work intern,
as defined in Chapter 14 (commencing with Section 4991) of
Division 2 of the Business and Professions Code, while working
under the supervision of a licensed professional specified in
paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 4996.23 of the Business
and Professions Code.

end insert begin delete

(G)

end delete

begin insert ( end insert begin insert I) end insert  A person registered as a marriage and family therapist intern,
or a marriage and family therapist trainee, as defined in Chapter
13 (commencing with Section 4980) of Division 2 of the Business
and Professions Code, while working under the supervision of a
licensed professional specified in subdivision (g) of Section
4980.03 of the Business and Professions Code.

begin delete

(H)

end delete

begin insert ( end insert begin insert J) end insert  A board certified, or board eligible, psychiatrist.

begin delete

(I)

end delete

begin insert (K) end insert  A licensed professional clinical counselor, as defined in
Chapter 16 (commencing with Section 4999.10) of Division 2 of
the Business and Professions Code.

begin delete

(J)

end delete

begin insert ( end insert begin insert L) end insert  A person registered as a clinical counselor intern, or a
clinical counselor trainee, as defined in Chapter 16 (commencing
with Section 4999.10) of Division 2 of the Business and
Professions Code, while working under the supervision of a
licensed professional specified in subdivision (h) of Section
4999.12 of the Business and Professions Code.

(b) (1) Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary,
a minor who is 12 years of age or older may consent to mental
health treatment or counseling services if, in the opinion of the
attending professional person, the minor is mature enough to
participate intelligently in the mental health treatment or counseling
services.

(2) A marriage and family therapist begin delete trainee or end delete begin insert trainee, end insert a clinical
counselor trainee, begin insert a psychology trainee, or a social work intern, end insert
as specified in paragraph (2) of subdivision (a), shall notify his or
her supervisor or, if the supervisor is unavailable, an on-call
supervisor at the site where the trainee begin insert or intern end insert volunteers or is
employed within 24 hours of treating or counseling a minor
pursuant to paragraph (1). If upon the initial assessment of the
minor the trainee begin insert or intern end insert believes that the minor is a danger to
self or to others, the trainee begin insert or intern end insert shall notify the supervisor
or, if the supervisor is unavailable, the on-call supervisor
immediately after the treatment or counseling session.

(3) Nothing in paragraph (2) is intended to supplant, alter,
expand, or remove any other reporting responsibilities required of
trainees begin insert or interns end insert under law.

(c) Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, the
mental health treatment or counseling of a minor authorized by
this section shall include involvement of the minor’s parent or
guardian, unless the professional person who is treating or
counseling the minor, after consulting with the minor, determines
that the involvement would be inappropriate. The professional
person who is treating or counseling the minor shall state in the
client record whether and when the person attempted to contact
the minor’s parent or guardian, and whether the attempt to contact
was successful or unsuccessful, or the reason why, in the
professional person’s opinion, it would be inappropriate to contact
the minor’s parent or guardian.

(d) The minor’s parent or guardian is not liable for payment for
mental health treatment or counseling services provided pursuant
to this section unless the parent or guardian participates in the
mental health treatment or counseling, and then only for services
rendered with the participation of the parent or guardian.

(e) This section does not authorize a minor to receive convulsive
treatment or psychosurgery, as defined in subdivisions (f) and (g)
of Section 5325 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, or
psychotropic drugs without the consent of the minor’s parent or
guardian.