AB 1725,
as amended, Maienschein. begin deleteMental health: conservatorship hearings for the gravely disabled. end deletebegin insertConservatorship hearings.end insert
Existing law provides a procedure for the appointment of a conservator for a person who is determined to be gravely disabled as a result of a mental disorder or an impairment by chronic alcoholism and requires an officer, including a county public guardian or a county mental health program, to conduct a conservatorshipbegin delete investigation.end deletebegin insert investigation and render a written report to the court of his or her investigation.end insert Under existing law, a professional person in charge of an agency providing comprehensive evaluation or a facility providing intensive treatment for a gravely disabled person may recommend a conservatorship for that personbegin insert,
and the agency is required to disclose any records or information that may facilitate an investigationend insert. Existing law requires the officer providing conservatorship investigation, when he or she concurs with the recommendationbegin insert of the professional person or facilityend insert, to petition the superior court in the patient’s county of residence for a conservatorship.
This bill wouldbegin delete include a person who is gravely disabled as a result of substance
abuse as a person for whom a conservatorship may be requested and granted. This bill would also provide a procedure for a family member or interested person who believes a conservatorship is necessary to petition the probate court to establish a conservatorship, as specified. This bill would alsoend delete authorize the court, after a hearingbegin insert attended by the proposed conservatee or the proposed conservatee’s cend insertbegin insertounsel, or bothend insert, to recommend a conservatorship to the officer providing conservatorship investigation when the court, in a conservatorshipbegin delete establishedend deletebegin insert
proceedingend insert under the Probate Code, determinesbegin insert, based on evidence presented to the court, including medical evidence,end insert that a person, for whom a conservatorship has been established under the Probate Code, may be gravely disabled as a result of a mental disorder or impairment by chronic alcoholismbegin delete or substance abuseend delete and is unwilling to accept, orbegin insert isend insert incapable of acceptingbegin insert,end insert treatment voluntarily.begin insert This bill would also require the court to appoint counsel to a proposed conservatee if he or she
cannot afford counsel.end insert This bill would require the officer providing conservatorship investigation tobegin insert petition the superior court in the patient’s county of residence to establish conservatorship if he or she concurs with the recommendation of the court, and toend insert file a copy of his or her report with the court within 30 days of the court’s recommendation.begin insert This bill would require an existing probate conservator, if conservatorship is recommended by the court, to disclose any records or information that may facilitate the investigation. This bill would also make confend insertbegin insertorming changes.end insert
By expanding the duties of the county officer providing conservatorship investigation, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program.
The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement.
This bill would provide that, if the Commission on State Mandates determines that the bill contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement for those costs shall be made pursuant to these statutory provisions.
Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: yes.
The people of the State of California do enact as follows:
Section 5350.2 of the Welfare and Institutions
2Code is amended to read:
Reasonable attempts shall be made by the county
2mental health programbegin delete, or the petitioning party,end delete to notify family
3members or any other person designated by the person for whom
4conservatorship is sought, of the time and place of the
5conservatorship hearing. The person for whom the conservatorship
6is sought shall be advised by the facility treating the personbegin insert, or by
7the probate court if the recommendation was made pursuant to
8subdivision (c) of Section 5352,end insert that he or she may request that
9information about the time and place of the conservatorship hearing
10not be given to
family members, in those circumstances where the
11proposed conservator is not a family member. The request shall
12be honored by the mental health program. Neither this section nor
13Section 5350 shall be interpreted to allow the proposed conservatee
14to request that any proposed conservator not be advised of the time
15and place of the conservatorship hearing.
Section 5352 of the Welfare and Institutions Code is
17amended to read:
(a) When the professional person in charge of an agency
19providing comprehensive evaluation or a facility providing
20intensive treatment determines that a person in his or her care is
21gravely disabled as a result of mental disorder or impairment by
22chronic alcoholismbegin delete or substance abuseend delete and is unwilling to accept,
23or incapable of accepting, treatment voluntarily, he or she may
24recommend conservatorship to the officer providing
25conservatorship investigation of the person’s county of residence
26prior to admittingbegin delete him or herend deletebegin insert
the personend insert as a patient in the facility.
27(b) The professional person in charge of an agency providing
28comprehensive evaluation or a facility providing intensive
29treatment may recommend conservatorship for a person without
30the person being an inpatient in the facilitybegin delete,end delete if both of the following
31conditions are met:
32(1) The professional person or another professional person
33designated by him or her has examined and evaluated the person
34and determined thatbegin delete he or sheend deletebegin insert the personend insert is gravely disabled.
begin delete end delete
35(2) The professional person or another professional person
36designated by him or her has determined that future examination
37on an inpatient basis is not necessary for a determination that the
38person is gravely disabled.
39(c) If the officer providing conservatorship investigation concurs
40with the recommendation of the professional person, he or she
P4 1shall petition the superior court in the
patient’s
county to establish
2conservatorship. If the officer providing conservatorship
3investigation does not initiate conservatorship proceedings, but a
4family member or interested person believes a conservatorship is
5necessary, the family member or interested person may petition
6the Probate Court under this chapter for the establishment of a
7conservatorship if the following conditions have been met:
8(1) The professional person in charge of an agency providing
9comprehensive evaluation or a facility providing intensive
10treatment has examined and evaluated the person and determined
11that he or she is gravely disabled as a result of a mental
disorder
12or impairment by chronic alcoholism or substance abuse and is
13unwilling to accept, or incapable of accepting, voluntary treatment.
14(2) The professional person has recommended a conservatorship
15to the officer providing conservatorship investigation in the county
16of residence.
17(3) The officer providing the investigation has made a report,
18but declines to initiate conservatorship proceedings.
19(d)
end delete
20begin insert(end insertbegin insertc)end insert (1) The court, after a hearingbegin insert attended by the proposed
21conservatee or the proposed conservatee’s counsel, or bothend insert, may
22recommend a conservatorship under this chapter to the officer
23providing conservatorship investigation of the person’s county of
24residence when the court in a conservatorshipbegin delete establishedend delete
25begin insert proceedingend insert under the Probate Code determinesbegin insert based on evidence
26presented to the courtend insertbegin insert, including medical evidenceend insert that a person,
27
for whom a conservatorship has been established under the Probate
28Code, may be gravely disabled as a result of a mental disorder or
29impairment by chronic alcoholismbegin delete or substance abuseend delete and is
30unwilling to accept, orbegin insert isend insert incapable of acceptingbegin insert,end insert treatment
31voluntarily.begin insert If the proposed conservatee cannot afford counsel,
32the court shall appoint counsel for end insertbegin inserthim or her.end insert
33(2) Within 30 days after the
recommendation, the officer
34providing conservatorship investigation shall file a copy of his or
35her report with the court making the recommendation in the begin deleteProbate end delete
36begin insertprobate end insertconservatorship.
37(d) If the officer providing conservatorship investigation concurs
38with the recommendation of the professional person, pursuant to
39subdivision (a) or (b), or the court, pursuant to subdivision (c), he
P5 1or she shall petition the superior court in the patient’s county of
2residence to establish conservatorship.
3(e) Where temporary conservatorship is indicated, that fact shall
4
be alternatively pleaded in the petition. The officer providing
5conservatorship investigation or other county officer or employee
6 designated by the county shall act as the temporary conservator.
begin insertSection 5354 of the end insertbegin insertWelfare and Institutions Codeend insertbegin insert is
8amended to read:end insert
The officer providing conservatorship investigation shall
10investigate all available alternatives to conservatorship and shall
11recommend conservatorship to the court only if no suitable
12alternatives are available. This officer shall render to the court a
13written report of investigation prior to the hearing. The report to
14the court shall be comprehensive and shall contain all relevant
15aspects of the person’s medical, psychological, financial, family,
16vocational and social condition, and information obtained from
17the person’s family members, close friends, social worker or
18principal therapist. The report shall also contain all available
19information concerning the person’s real and personal property.
20The facilities providing intensive treatment or comprehensive
21evaluation shall disclose any records or
informationbegin delete whichend deletebegin insert thatend insert
22 may facilitate the investigation.begin insert If the recommendation for
23conservatorship was made pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section
245352, the existing probate conservator shall disclose any records
25or information that may facilitate the investigation.end insert If the officer
26providing conservatorship investigation recommends against
27conservatorship, he or she shall set forth all alternatives available.
28A copy of the report shall be transmitted to the individual whobegin insert, or
29the court that,end insert originally recommended conservatorship, to the
30person or agency, if any, recommended to serve as conservator,
31and to
the person recommended for conservatorship. The court
32may receive the report in evidence and may read and consider the
33contents thereof in rendering its judgment.
begin insertSection 5360 of the end insertbegin insertWelfare and Institutions Codeend insertbegin insert is
35amended to read:end insert
begin insert(a)end insertbegin insert end insert The officer providing conservatorship investigation
37shall recommend, in hisbegin insert or herend insert report to the court, for or against
38imposition of a disability set forth in Section 5357 on the basis of
39the determination of the professional person who recommended
40conservatorship pursuant tobegin insert subdivision (a) or (b) ofend insert Section 5352
P6 1begin insert
or the determination of the physician who presented medical
2evidence to the court pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 5352end insert.
3The
end delete
4begin insert (b)end insertbegin insert end insertbegin insertThe end insertofficer providing conservatorship investigation shall
5recommend in hisbegin insert or herend insert report any of the additional powers of a
6conservator set forth in Section 2591 of the Probate Code if the
7needs of the individual patient or hisbegin insert or herend insert
estate require such
8powers. In making such determination, the officer providing
9conservatorship investigation shall consult with the professional
10person who recommended conservatorship pursuant tobegin insert subdivision
11(a) or (b) of end insert Section 5352begin insert or the determination of the physician
12who presented medical evidence to the court pursuant to
13subdivision (c) of Section 5352end insert.
If the Commission on State Mandates determines that
16this act contains costs mandated by the state, reimbursement to
17local agencies and school districts for those costs shall be made
18pursuant to Part 7 (commencing with Section 17500) of Division
194 of Title 2 of the Government Code.
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