SECTIONS 5150-5157 - California Statutes

WELFARE AND INSTITUTIONS CODE

SECTION 5150-5157

5150. When any person, as a result of mental disorder, is a danger
to others, or to himself or herself, or gravely disabled, a peace
officer, member of the attending staff, as defined by regulation, of
an evaluation facility designated by the county, designated members
of a mobile crisis team provided by Section 5651.7, or other
professional person designated by the county may, upon probable
cause, take, or cause to be taken, the person into custody and place
him or her in a facility designated by the county and approved by the
State Department of Mental Health as a facility for 72-hour
treatment and evaluation.
Such facility shall require an application in writing stating the
circumstances under which the person's condition was called to the
attention of the officer, member of the attending staff, or
professional person, and stating that the officer, member of the
attending staff, or professional person has probable cause to believe
that the person is, as a result of mental disorder, a danger to
others, or to himself or herself, or gravely disabled. If the
probable cause is based on the statement of a person other than the
officer, member of the attending staff, or professional person, such
person shall be liable in a civil action for intentionally giving a
statement which he or she knows to be false.

5150.05. (a) When determining if probable cause exists to take a
person into custody, or cause a person to be taken into custody,
pursuant to Section 5150, any person who is authorized to take that
person, or cause that person to be taken, into custody pursuant to
that section shall consider available relevant information about the
historical course of the person's mental disorder if the authorized
person determines that the information has a reasonable bearing on
the determination as to whether the person is a danger to others, or
to himself or herself, or is gravely disabled as a result of the
mental disorder.
(b) For purposes of this section, "information about the
historical course of the person's mental disorder" includes evidence
presented by the person who has provided or is providing mental
health or related support services to the person subject to a
determination described in subdivision (a), evidence presented by one
or more members of the family of that person, and evidence presented
by the person subject to a determination described in subdivision
(a) or anyone designated by that person.
(c) If the probable cause in subdivision (a) is based on the
statement of a person other than the one authorized to take the
person into custody pursuant to Section 5150, a member of the
attending staff, or a professional person, the person making the
statement shall be liable in a civil action for intentionally giving
any statement that he or she knows to be false.
(d) This section shall not be applied to limit the application of
Section 5328.

5150.1. No peace officer seeking to transport, or having
transported, a person to a designated facility for assessment under
Section 5150, shall be instructed by mental health personnel to take
the person to, or keep the person at, a jail solely because of the
unavailability of an acute bed, nor shall the peace officer be
forbidden to transport the person directly to the designated
facility. No mental health employee from any county, state, city, or
any private agency providing Short-Doyle psychiatric emergency
services shall interfere with a peace officer performing duties under
Section 5150 by preventing the peace officer from entering a
designated facility with the person to be assessed, nor shall any
employee of such an agency require the peace officer to remove the
person without assessment as a condition of allowing the peace
officer to depart.
"Peace officer" for the purposes of this section also means a
jailer seeking to transport or transporting a person in custody to a
designated facility for assessment consistent with Section 4011.6 or
4011.8 of the Penal Code and Section 5150.

5150.2. In each county whenever a peace officer has transported a
person to a designated facility for assessment under Section 5150,
that officer shall be detained no longer than the time necessary to
complete documentation of the factual basis of the detention under
Section 5150 and a safe and orderly transfer of physical custody of
the person. The documentation shall include detailed information
regarding the factual circumstances and observations constituting
probable cause for the peace officer to believe that the individual
required psychiatric evaluation under the standards of Section 5105.
Each county shall establish disposition procedures and guidelines
with local law enforcement agencies as necessary to relate to persons
not admitted for evaluation and treatment and who decline
alternative mental health services and to relate to the safe and
orderly transfer of physical custody of persons under Section 5150,
including those who have a criminal detention pending.

5150.3. Whenever any person presented for evaluation at a facility
designated under Section 5150 is found to be in need of mental health
services, but is not admitted to the facility, all available
alternative services provided for pursuant to Section 5151 shall be
offered as determined by the county mental health director.

5150.4. "Assessment" for the purposes of this article, means the
determination of whether a person shall be evaluated and treated
pursuant to Section 5150.

5151. If the facility for 72-hour treatment and evaluation admits
the person, it may detain him or her for evaluation and treatment for
a period not to exceed 72 hours. Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays
may be excluded from the 72-hour period if the Department of Mental
Health certifies for each facility that evaluation and treatment
services cannot reasonably be made available on those days. The
certification by the department is subject to renewal every two
years. The department shall adopt regulations defining criteria for
determining whether a facility can reasonably be expected to make
evaluation and treatment services available on Saturdays, Sundays,
and holidays.
Prior to admitting a person to the facility for 72-hour treatment
and evaluation pursuant to Section 5150, the professional person in
charge of the facility or his or her designee shall assess the
individual in person to determine the appropriateness of the
involuntary detention.
If in the judgment of the professional person in charge of the
facility providing evaluation and treatment, or his or her designee,
the person can be properly served without being detained, he or she
shall be provided evaluation, crisis intervention, or other inpatient
or outpatient services on a voluntary basis.
Nothing in this section shall be interpreted to prevent a peace
officer from delivering individuals to a designated facility for
assessment under Section 5150. Furthermore, the preadmission
assessment requirement of this section shall not be interpreted to
require peace officers to perform any additional duties other than
those specified in Sections 5150.1 and 5150.2.

5152. (a) Each person admitted to a facility for 72-hour treatment
and evaluation under the provisions of this article shall receive an
evaluation as soon as possible after he or she is admitted and shall
receive whatever treatment and care his or her condition requires for
the full period that he or she is held. The person shall be released
before 72 hours have elapsed only if the psychiatrist directly
responsible for the person's treatment believes, as a result of the
psychiatrist's personal observations, that the person no longer
requires evaluation or treatment. However, in those situations in
which both a psychiatrist and psychologist have personally evaluated
or examined a person who is placed under a 72-hour hold and there is
a collaborative treatment relationship between the psychiatrist and
psychologist, either the psychiatrist or psychologist may authorize
the release of the person from the hold, but only after they have
consulted with one another. In the event of a clinical or
professional disagreement regarding the early release of a person who
has been placed under a 72-hour hold, the hold shall be maintained
unless the facility's medical director overrules the decision of the
psychiatrist or psychologist opposing the release. Both the
psychiatrist and psychologist shall enter their findings, concerns,
or objections into the person's medical record. If any other
professional person who is authorized to release the person believes
the person should be released before 72 hours have elapsed, and the
psychiatrist directly responsible for the person's treatment objects,
the matter shall be referred to the medical director of the facility
for the final decision. However, if the medical director is not a
psychiatrist, he or she shall appoint a designee who is a
psychiatrist. If the matter is referred, the person shall be released
before 72 hours have elapsed only if the psychiatrist making the
final decision believes, as a result of the psychiatrist's personal
observations, that the person no longer requires evaluation or
treatment.
(b) Any person who has been detained for evaluation and treatment
shall be released, referred for further care and treatment on a
voluntary basis, or certified for intensive treatment, or a
conservator or temporary conservator shall be appointed pursuant to
this part as required.
(c) A person designated by the mental health facility shall give
to any person who has been detained at that facility for evaluation
and treatment and who is receiving medication as a result of his or
her mental illness, as soon as possible after detention, written and
oral information about the probable effects and possible side effects
of the medication. The State Department of Mental Health shall
develop and promulgate written materials on the effects of
medications, for use by county mental health programs as disseminated
or as modified by the county mental health program, addressing the
probable effects and the possible side effects of the medication. The
following information shall be given orally to the patient:
(1) The nature of the mental illness, or behavior, that is the
reason the medication is being given or recommended.
(2) The likelihood of improving or not improving without the
medication.
(3) Reasonable alternative treatments available.
(4) The name and type, frequency, amount, and method of dispensing
the medication, and the probable length of time the medication will
be taken.
The fact that the information has or has not been given shall be
indicated in the patient's chart. If the information has not been
given, the designated person shall document in the patient's chart
the justification for not providing the information. A failure to
give information about the probable effects and possible side effects
of the medication shall not constitute new grounds for release.
(d) The amendments to this section made by Assembly Bill 348 of
the 2003-04 Regular Session shall not be construed to revise or
expand the scope of practice of psychologists, as defined in Chapter
6.6 (commencing with Section 2900) of Division 2 of the Business and
Professions Code.

5152.1. The professional person in charge of the facility providing
72-hour evaluation and treatment, or his or her designee, shall
notify the county mental health director or the director's designee
and the peace officer who makes the written application pursuant to
Section 5150 or a person who is designated by the law enforcement
agency that employs the peace officer, when the person has been
released after 72-hour detention, when the person is not detained, or
when the person is released before the full period of allowable
72-hour detention if all of the following conditions apply:
(a) The peace officer requests such notification at the time he or
she makes the application and the peace officer certifies at that
time in writing that the person has been referred to the facility
under circumstances which, based upon an allegation of facts
regarding actions witnessed by the officer or another person, would
support the filing of a criminal complaint.
(b) The notice is limited to the person's name, address, date of
admission for 72-hour evaluation and treatment, and date of release.
If a police officer, law enforcement agency, or designee of the
law enforcement agency, possesses any record of information obtained
pursuant to the notification requirements of this section, the
officer, agency, or designee shall destroy that record two years
after receipt of notification.

5152.2. Each law enforcement agency within a county shall arrange
with the county mental health director a method for giving prompt
notification to peace officers pursuant to Section 5152.1.

5153. Whenever possible, officers charged with apprehension of
persons pursuant to this article shall dress in plain clothes and
travel in unmarked vehicles.

5154. (a) Notwithstanding Section 5113, if the provisions of
Section 5152 have been met, the professional person in charge of the
facility providing 72-hour treatment and evaluation, his or her
designee, the medical director of the facility or his or her designee
described in Section 5152, the psychiatrist directly responsible for
the person's treatment, or the psychologist shall not be held
civilly or criminally liable for any action by a person released
before the end of 72 hours pursuant to this article.
(b) The professional person in charge of the facility providing
72-hour treatment and evaluation, his or her designee, the medical
director of the facility or his or her designee described in Section
5152, the psychiatrist directly responsible for the person's
treatment, or the psychologist shall not be held civilly or
criminally liable for any action by a person released at the end of
the 72 hours pursuant to this article.
(c) The peace officer responsible for the detainment of the person
shall not be civilly or criminally liable for any action by a person
released at or before the end of the 72 hours pursuant to this
article.
(d) The amendments to this section made by Assembly Bill 348 of
the 2003-04 Regular Session shall not be construed to revise or
expand the scope of practice of psychologists, as defined in Chapter
6.6 (commencing with Section 2900) of Division 2 of the Business and
Professions Code.

5155. Nothing in this part shall be construed as granting authority
to local entities to issue licenses supplementary to existing state
and local licensing laws.

5156. At the time a person is taken into custody for evaluation, or
within a reasonable time thereafter, unless a responsible relative
or the guardian or conservator of the person is in possession of the
person's personal property, the person taking him into custody shall
take reasonable precautions to preserve and safeguard the personal
property in the possession of or on the premises occupied by the
person. The person taking him into custody shall then furnish to the
court a report generally describing the person's property so
preserved and safeguarded and its disposition, in substantially the
form set forth in Section 5211; except that if a responsible relative
or the guardian or conservator of the person is in possession of the
person's property, the report shall include only the name of the
relative or guardian or conservator and the location of the property,
whereupon responsibility of the person taking him into custody for
such property shall terminate.
As used in this section, "responsible relative" includes the
spouse, parent, adult child, or adult brother or sister of the
person, except that it does not include the person who applied for
the petition under this article.

5157. (a) Each person, at the time he or she is first taken into
custody under provisions of Section 5150, shall be provided, by the
person who takes such other person into custody, the following
information orally. The information shall be in substantially the
following form:

My name is
________________________________________________.
I am a
________________________________________________.
(peace
officer, mental health professional)
with
________________________________________________.
(name of agency)
You are not under criminal arrest, but I am
taking you for examination by mental health
professionals at ________________________________
________________________________________________.
(name of facility)
You will be told your rights by the mental
health staff.
If taken into custody at his or her residence,
the person shall also
be told the following information in
substantially the following
form:
You may bring a few personal items with you
which I will have
to approve. You can make a phone call and/or
leave a note to tell
your friends and/or family where you have been
taken.

(b) The designated facility shall keep, for each patient
evaluated, a record of the advisement given pursuant to subdivision
(a) which shall include:
(1) Name of person detained for evaluation.
(2) Name and position of peace officer or mental health
professional taking person into custody.
(3) Date.
(4) Whether advisement was completed.
(5) If not given or completed, the mental health professional at
the facility shall either provide the information specified in
subdivision (a), or include a statement of good cause, as defined by
regulations of the State Department of Mental Health, which shall be
kept with the patient's medical record.
(c) Each person admitted to a designated facility for 72-hour
evaluation and treatment shall be given the following information by
admission staff at the evaluation unit. The information shall be
given orally and in writing and in a language or modality accessible
to the person. The written information shall be available in the
person's native language or the language which is the person's
principal means of communication. The information shall be in
substantially the following form:

My name is ______________________________________.
My position here is______________________________.
You are being placed into the psychiatric unit
because it is our
professional opinion that as a result of mental
disorder, you are
likely to:
(check
applicable)
harm yourself
____
harm someone else
____
be unable to take care of your
own
food, clothing, and housing needs
____
We feel this is true because
__________________________________________________
(herewith a listing of the facts upon which the
allegation of dangerous
or gravely disabled due to mental disorder is
based, including pertinent
facts arising from the admission interview.)
You will be held on the ward for a period up to
72
hours.
This does not include weekends or holidays.
Your 72-hour period will begin
__________________________________________________
(day and time.)
During these 72 hours you will be evaluated by
the hospital staff,
and you may be given treatment, including
medications. It is possible for you to be
released before the end of the 72 hours. But if
the staff decides that you need continued
treatment you can be
held for a longer period of time. If you are
held longer than 72 hours
you have the right to a lawyer and a qualified
interpreter and a
hearing before a judge. If you are unable to pay
for the lawyer, then
one will be provided free.

(d) For each patient admitted for 72-hour evaluation and
treatment, the facility shall keep with the patient's medical record
a record of the advisement given pursuant to subdivision (c) which
shall include:
(1) Name of person performing advisement.
(2) Date.
(3) Whether advisement was completed.
(4) If not completed, a statement of good cause.
If the advisement was not completed at admission, the advisement
process shall be continued on the ward until completed. A record of
the matters prescribed by subdivisions (a), (b), and (c) shall be
kept with the patient's medical record.