(a) A person who is committed under this article shall be provided with programming by the State Department of State Hospitals which shall afford the person with treatment for his or her diagnosed mental disorder. Persons who decline treatment shall be offered the opportunity to participate in treatment on at least a monthly basis.
(b) Amenability to treatment is not required for a finding that any person is a person described in Section 6600, nor is it required for treatment of that person. Treatment does not mean that the treatment be successful or potentially successful, nor does it mean that the person must recognize his or her problem and willingly participate in the treatment program.
(c) The programming provided by the State Department of State Hospitals in facilities shall be consistent with current institutional standards for the treatment of sex offenders, and shall be based on a structured treatment protocol developed by the State Department of State Hospitals. The protocol shall describe the number and types of treatment components that are provided in the program, and shall specify how assessment data will be used to determine the course of treatment for each individual offender. The protocol shall also specify measures that will be used to assess treatment progress and changes with respect to the individual’s risk of reoffense.
(d) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, except as to requirements relating to fire and life safety of persons with mental illness, and consistent with information and standards described in subdivision (c), the State Department of State Hospitals is authorized to provide the programming using an outpatient/day treatment model, wherein treatment is provided by licensed professional clinicians in living units not licensed as health facility beds within a secure facility setting, on less than a 24-hour a day basis. The State Department of State Hospitals shall take into consideration the unique characteristics, individual needs, and choices of persons committed under this article, including whether or not a person needs antipsychotic medication, whether or not a person has physical medical conditions, and whether or not a person chooses to participate in a specified course of offender treatment. The State Department of State Hospitals shall ensure that policies and procedures are in place that address changes in patient needs, as well as patient choices, and respond to treatment needs in a timely fashion. The State Department of State Hospitals, in implementing this subdivision, shall be allowed by the State Department of Public Health to place health facility beds at Coalinga State Hospital in suspense in order to meet the mental health and medical needs of the patient population. Coalinga State Hospital may remove all or any portion of its voluntarily suspended beds into active license status by request to the State Department of Public Health. The facility’s request shall be granted unless the suspended beds fail to comply with current operational requirements for licensure.
(e) The department shall meet with each patient who has chosen not to participate in a specific course of offender treatment during monthly treatment planning conferences. At these conferences the department shall explain treatment options available to the patient, offer and re-offer treatment to the patient, seek to obtain the patient’s cooperation in the recommended treatment options, and document these steps in the patient’s health record. The fact that a patient has chosen not to participate in treatment in the past shall not establish that the patient continues to choose not to participate.
(Amended by Stats. 2012, Ch. 24, Sec. 145. (AB 1470) Effective June 27, 2012.)
Last modified: October 25, 2018