Resources ON THIS PAGE: About Laura's Law ...About Past Campaigns...About assisted outpatient treatment Laura's Law support ... About extending the sunset date ... About implementation |
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About Laura's Law
About Past Campaigns Passing Laura's Law (1421) After three years of work, CTAC’s reform efforts broke through in 2002 when Assembly Bill 1421 (Laura’s Law) passed both houses of the legislature and was signed into law by Governor Davis that September; this legislation created the opportunity for counties to create an assisted outpatient treatment (AOT) program that could intervene before a person became an actual danger because of mental illness and place them in an intensive and supervised community treatment program. Keeping Laura's Law (2357) An unavoidable legislative compromise meant Laura's Law was slated to expire January 1, 2008. n 2006, CTAC members vigorously supported AB 2357, which kept Laura’s Law alive by extending its sunset until 2013. Assembly Speaker pro Tem Leland Yee (D-San Francisco) and Assemblymember Betty Karnette (D-Long Beach) together introduced AB 2357 to extend the sunset date of Laura’s Law until Jan. 1, 2013. They were successful, and Governor Schwarzenegger signed the renewal of Laura's Law in 2006. Californis legislators strongly supported this extension of Laura's Law. Thank you to Governor Schwarzenegger for renewing it!
About Implementation The Los Angeles AB 1421 pilot program has been successfully helping some of that county’s people in crisis because of a severe mental illness, but Laura’s Law has not yet been implemented anywhere else in the state. Assembly Bill 1421 was altered and saddled with limitations by opponents during the legislative process. The biggest of these is that assisted outpatient treatment was not instituted statewide. Instead, it is up to each county to decide whether or not to implement the law and establish a program for it. The most prominent challenge at the county level is that a board of supervisors must find that no voluntary mental health program will be reduced as a result of adopting AB 1421. This finding can encompass savings from the reduced burden on the voluntary system, and an AOT program can be financed, as is the one in L.A. County, through the redirection of resources for involuntary care. Yet, the fiscal crisis faced by counties in the years after AB 1421 passed precluded any new locally financed programs and hence the adoption of Laura’s Law. That crisis has now subsided. Counties now have a fair chance to establish AOT. NEW Check out CTAC's Implementation Toolkit About Assisted Outpatient Treatment (AOT) Assisted outpatient treatment’s sustained and intensive court-mandated treatment in the community can help those most overcome by the symptoms of a severe mental illness. The treatment mechanism is used until a person is well enough to again maintain his or her own treatment regimen. And eligibility for assisted outpatient treatment is not predicated solely on dangerousness. A progressive eligibility standard allows programs created under AB 1421 to help people who are vitally in need of care but who do not meet LPS’ restrictive dangerousness threshold for inpatient hospitalization. As a bridge to recovery, assisted outpatient treatment can stop the “revolving door” of repeated hospitalizations, jailings, and homelessness.
Laura's Law Support Laura's Law has had broad support in the years it has been debated, in part because of its rational, scientific basis, and in part because of compassion for those too ill to make treatment decisions. Laura's Law also has strong components built in to protect patient's rights. Most opponents simply misunderstand the law or misinterpret its intent. Supporters range from consumers and family members to medical and law enforcement professionals, and include the following.
About Extending the Sunset Date Assembly Speaker pro Tem Leland Yee (D-San Francisco) and Assemblymember Betty Karnette (D-Long Beach) introduced AB 2357 to extend the sunset date.
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