SECTIONS 5350-5372 - California Statutes

WELFARE AND INSTITUTIONS CODE

SECTION 5350-5372

5350. A conservator of the person, of the estate, or of the person
and the estate may be appointed for any person who is gravely
disabled as a result of mental disorder or impairment by chronic
alcoholism.
The procedure for establishing, administering, and terminating a
conservatorship under this chapter shall be the same as that provided
in Division 4 (commencing with Section 1400) of the Probate Code,
except as follows:
(a) A conservator may be appointed for a gravely disabled minor.
(b) (1) Appointment of a conservator under this part, including
the appointment of a conservator for a person who is gravely
disabled, as defined in subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) of
subdivision (h) of Section 5008, shall be subject to the list of
priorities in Section 1812 of the Probate Code unless the officer
providing conservatorship investigation recommends otherwise to the
superior court.
(2) In appointing a conservator, as defined in subparagraph (B) of
paragraph (1) of subdivision (h) of Section 5008, the court shall
consider the purposes of protection of the public and the treatment
of the conservatee. Notwithstanding any other provision of this
section, the court shall not appoint the proposed conservator if the
court determines that appointment of the proposed conservator will
not result in adequate protection of the public.
(c) No conservatorship of the estate pursuant to this chapter
shall be established if a conservatorship or guardianship of the
estate exists under the Probate Code. When a gravely disabled person
already has a guardian or conservator of the person appointed under
the Probate Code, the proceedings under this chapter shall not
terminate the prior proceedings but shall be concurrent with and
superior thereto. The superior court may appoint the existing
guardian or conservator of the person or another person as
conservator of the person under this chapter.
(d) The person for whom conservatorship is sought shall have the
right to demand a court or jury trial on the issue whether he or she
is gravely disabled. Demand for court or jury trial shall be made
within five days following the hearing on the conservatorship
petition. If the proposed conservatee demands a court or jury trial
before the date of the hearing as provided for in Section 5365, the
demand shall constitute a waiver of the hearing.
Court or jury trial shall commence within 10 days of the date of
the demand, except that the court shall continue the trial date for a
period not to exceed 15 days upon the request of counsel for the
proposed conservatee.
This right shall also apply in subsequent proceedings to
reestablish conservatorship.
(e) (1) Notwithstanding subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) of
subdivision (h) of Section 5008, a person is not "gravely disabled"
if that person can survive safely without involuntary detention with
the help of responsible family, friends, or others who are both
willing and able to help provide for the person's basic personal
needs for food, clothing, or shelter.
(2) However, unless they specifically indicate in writing their
willingness and ability to help, family, friends, or others shall not
be considered willing or able to provide this help.
(3) The purpose of this subdivision is to avoid the necessity for,
and the harmful effects of, requiring family, friends, and others to
publicly state, and requiring the court to publicly find, that no
one is willing or able to assist the mentally disordered person in
providing for the person's basic needs for food, clothing, or
shelter.
(4) This subdivision does not apply to a person who is gravely
disabled, as defined in subparagraph (B) of paragraph (1) of
subdivision (h) of Section 5008.
(f) Conservatorship investigation shall be conducted pursuant to
this part and shall not be subject to Section 1826 or Chapter 2
(commencing with Section 1850) of Part 3 of Division 4 of the Probate
Code.
(g) Notice of proceedings under this chapter shall be given to a
guardian or conservator of the person or estate of the proposed
conservatee appointed under the Probate Code.
(h) As otherwise provided in this chapter.

5350.1. The purpose of conservatorship, as provided for in this
article, is to provide individualized treatment, supervision, and
placement.

5350.2. Reasonable attempts shall be made by the county mental
health program to notify family members or any other person
designated by the person for whom conservatorship is sought, of the
time and place of the conservatorship hearing. The person for whom
the conservatorship is sought shall be advised by the facility
treating the person that he or she may request that information about
the time and place of the conservatorship hearing not be given to
family members, in those circumstances where the proposed conservator
is not a family member. The request shall be honored by the mental
health program. Neither this section nor Section 5350 shall be
interpreted to allow the proposed conservatee to request that any
proposed conservator not be advised of the time and place of the
conservatorship hearing.

5351. In each county or counties acting jointly under the
provisions of Article 1 (commencing with Section 6500) of Chapter 5
of Division 7 of Title 1 of the Government Code, the governing board
shall designate the agency or agencies to provide conservatorship
investigation as set forth in this chapter. The governing board may
designate that conservatorship services be provided by the public
guardian or agency providing public guardian services.

5352. When the professional person in charge of an agency providing
comprehensive evaluation or a facility providing intensive treatment
determines that a person in his care is gravely disabled as a result
of mental disorder or impairment by chronic alcoholism and is
unwilling to accept, or incapable of accepting, treatment
voluntarily, he may recommend conservatorship to the officer
providing conservatorship investigation of the county of residence of
the person prior to his admission as a patient in such facility.
The professional person in charge of an agency providing
comprehensive evaluation or a facility providing intensive treatment
may recommend conservatorship for a person without the person being
an inpatient in such facility, if both of the following conditions
are met: (a) the professional person or another professional person
designated by him has examined and evaluated the person and
determined that he is gravely disabled; (b) the professional person
or another professional person designated by him has determined that
future examination on an inpatient basis is not necessary for a
determination that the person is gravely disabled.
If the officer providing conservatorship investigation concurs
with the recommendation, he shall petition the superior court in the
county of residence of the patient to establish conservatorship.
Where temporary conservatorship is indicated, the fact shall be
alternatively pleaded in the petition. The officer providing
conservatorship investigation or other county officer or employee
designated by the county shall act as the temporary conservator.

5352.1. (a) The court may establish a temporary conservatorship for
a period not to exceed 30 days and appoint a temporary conservator
on the basis of the comprehensive report of the officer providing
conservatorship investigation filed pursuant to Section 5354, or on
the basis of an affidavit of the professional person who recommended
conservatorship stating the reasons for his or her recommendation, if
the court is satisfied that the comprehensive report or affidavit
shows the necessity for a temporary conservatorship.
(b) Except as provided in this section, all temporary
conservatorships shall expire automatically at the conclusion of 30
days, unless prior to that date the court shall conduct a hearing on
the issue of whether or not the proposed conservatee is gravely
disabled as defined in subdivision (h) of Section 5008.
(c) If the proposed conservatee demands a court or jury trial on
the issue whether he or she is gravely disabled, the court may extend
the temporary conservatorship until the date of the disposition of
the issue by the court or jury trial, provided that the extension
shall in no event exceed a period of six months.

5352.2. Where the duly designated officer providing conservatorship
investigation is a public guardian, his official oath and bond as
public guardian are in lieu of any other bond or oath on the grant of
temporary letters of conservatorship to him.

5352.3. If the professional person in charge of the facility
providing intensive treatment recommends conservatorship pursuant to
Section 5352, the proposed conservatee may be held in that facility
for a period not to exceed three days beyond the designated period
for intensive treatment if the additional time period is necessary
for a filing of the petition for temporary conservatorship and the
establishment of the temporary conservatorship by the court. The
involuntary detention period for gravely disabled persons pursuant to
Sections 5150, 5250, and 5170.15 shall not exceed 47 days unless
continuance is granted.

5352.4. If a conservatee appeals the court's decision to establish
conservatorship, the conservatorship shall continue unless execution
of judgment is stayed by the appellate court.

5352.5. Conservatorship proceedings may be initiated for any person
committed to a state hospital or local mental health facility or
placed on outpatient treatment pursuant to Section 1026 or 1370 of
the Penal Code or transferred pursuant to Section 4011.6 of the Penal
Code upon recommendation of the medical director of the state
hospital, or a designee, or professional person in charge of the
local mental health facility, or a designee, or the local mental
health director, or a designee, to the conservatorship investigator
of the county of residence of the person prior to his or her
admission to the hospital or facility or of the county in which the
hospital or facility is located. The initiation of conservatorship
proceedings or the existence of a conservatorship shall not affect
any pending criminal proceedings.
Subject to the provisions of Sections 5150 and 5250,
conservatorship proceedings may be initiated for any person convicted
of a felony who has been transferred to a state hospital under the
jurisdiction of the State Department of Mental Health pursuant to
Section 2684 of the Penal Code by the recommendation of the medical
director of the state hospital to the conservatorship investigator of
the county of residence of the person or of the county in which the
state hospital is located.
Subject to the provisions of Sections 5150 and 5250,
conservatorship proceedings may be initiated for any person committed
to the Youth Authority, or on parole from a facility of the Youth
Authority, by the Director of the Department of the Youth Authority
or a designee, to the conservatorship investigator of the county of
residence of the person or of the county in which the facility is
situated.
The county mental health program providing conservatorship
investigation services and conservatorship case management services
for any persons except those transferred pursuant to Section 4011.6
of the Penal Code shall be reimbursed for the expenditures made by it
for the services pursuant to the Short-Doyle Act (commencing with
Section 5600) at 100 percent of the expenditures. Each county
Short-Doyle plan shall include provision for the services in the
plan.

5352.6. Within 10 days after conservatorship of the person has been
established under the provisions of this article, there shall be an
individualized treatment plan unless treatment is specifically found
not to be appropriate by the court. The treatment plan shall be
developed by the Short-Doyle Act community mental health service, the
staff of a facility operating under a contract to provide such
services in the individual's county of residence, or the staff of a
health facility licensed pursuant to Chapter 2 (commencing with
Section 1250) of Division 2 of the Health and Safety Code to provide
inpatient psychiatric treatment. The person responsible for
developing the treatment plan shall encourage the participation of
the client and the client's family members, when appropriate, in the
development, implementation, revision, and review of the treatment
plan. The individualized treatment plan shall specify goals for the
individual's treatment, the criteria by which accomplishment of the
goals can be judged, and a plan for review of the progress of
treatment. The goals of the treatment plan shall be equivalent to
reducing or eliminating the behavioral manifestations of grave
disability. If a treatment plan is not developed as provided herein
then the matter shall be referred to the court by the Short-Doyle Act
community mental health service, or the staff of a facility
operating under a contract to provide such services, or the
conservator, or the attorney of record for the conservatee.
When the progress review determines that the goals have been
reached and the person is no longer gravely disabled, a person
designated by the county shall so report to the court and the
conservatorship shall be terminated by the court.
If the conservator fails to report to the court that the person is
no longer gravely disabled as provided herein, then the matter shall
be referred to the court by the Short-Doyle Act community mental
health service, or the staff of a facility operating under a contract
to provide such services, or the attorney of record for the
conservatee.

5353. A temporary conservator under this chapter shall determine
what arrangements are necessary to provide the person with food,
shelter, and care pending the determination of conservatorship. He
shall give preference to arrangements which allow the person to
return to his home, family or friends. If necessary, the temporary
conservator may require the person to be detained in a facility
providing intensive treatment or in a facility specified in Section
5358 pending the determination of conservatorship. Any person so
detained shall have the same right to judicial review set forth in
Article 5 (commencing with Section 5275) of Chapter 2 of this part.
The powers of the temporary conservator shall be those granted in
the decree, but in no event may they be broader than the powers which
may be granted a conservator.
The court shall order the temporary conservator to take all
reasonable steps to preserve the status quo concerning the
conservatee's previous place of residence. The temporary conservator
shall not be permitted to sell or relinquish on the conservatee's
behalf any estate or interest in any real or personal property,
including any lease or estate in real or personal property used as or
within the conservatee's place of residence, without specific
approval of the court, which may be granted only upon a finding based
on a preponderance of the evidence that such action is necessary to
avert irreparable harm to the conservatee. A finding of irreparable
harm as to real property may be based upon a reasonable showing that
such real property is vacant, that it cannot reasonably be rented,
and that it is impossible or impractical to obtain fire or liability
insurance on such property.

5354. The officer providing conservatorship investigation shall
investigate all available alternatives to conservatorship and shall
recommend conservatorship to the court only if no suitable
alternatives are available. This officer shall render to the court a
written report of investigation prior to the hearing. The report to
the court shall be comprehensive and shall contain all relevant
aspects of the person's medical, psychological, financial, family,
vocational and social condition, and information obtained from the
person's family members, close friends, social worker or principal
therapist. The report shall also contain all available information
concerning the person's real and personal property. The facilities
providing intensive treatment or comprehensive evaluation shall
disclose any records or information which may facilitate the
investigation. If the officer providing conservatorship investigation
recommends against conservatorship, he or she shall set forth all
alternatives available. A copy of the report shall be transmitted to
the individual who originally recommended conservatorship, to the
person or agency, if any, recommended to serve as conservator, and to
the person recommended for conservatorship. The court may receive
the report in evidence and may read and consider the contents thereof
in rendering its judgment.

5354.5. Except as otherwise provided in this section, the person
recommended to serve as conservator shall promptly notify the officer
providing conservatorship investigation whether he or she will
accept the position if appointed. If notified that the person or
agency recommended will not accept the position if appointed, the
officer providing conservatorship investigation shall promptly
recommend another person to serve as conservator.
The public guardian shall serve as conservator of any person found
by a court under this chapter to be gravely disabled, if the court
recommends the conservatorship after a conservatorship investigation,
and if the court finds that no other person or entity is willing and
able to serve as conservator.

5355. If the conservatorship investigation results in a
recommendation for conservatorship, the recommendation shall
designate the most suitable person, corporation, state or local
agency or county officer, or employee designated by the county to
serve as conservator. No person, corporation, or agency shall be
designated as conservator whose interests, activities, obligations or
responsibilities are such as to compromise his or their ability to
represent and safeguard the interests of the conservatee. Nothing in
this section shall be construed to prevent the State Department of
Mental Health from serving as guardian pursuant to Section 7284, or
the function of the conservatorship investigator and conservator
being exercised by the same public officer or employee.
When a public guardian is appointed conservator, his official bond
and oath as public guardian are in lieu of the conservator's bond
and oath on the grant of letters of conservatorship. No bond shall be
required of any other public officer or employee appointed to serve
as conservator.

5356. The report of the officer providing conservatorship
investigation shall contain his or her recommendations concerning the
powers to be granted to, and the duties to be imposed upon the
conservator, the legal disabilities to be imposed upon the
conservatee, and the proper placement for the conservatee pursuant to
Section 5358. Except as provided in this section, the report to the
court shall also contain an agreement signed by the person or agency
recommended to serve as conservator certifying that the person or
agency is able and willing to serve as conservator. The public
guardian shall serve as conservator of any person found by a court
under this chapter to be gravely disabled, if the court recommends
the conservatorship after a conservatorship investigation, and if the
court finds that no other person or entity is willing and able to
serve as conservator.

5357. All conservators of the estate shall have the general powers
specified in Chapter 6 (commencing with Section 2400) of Part 4 of
Division 4 of the Probate Code and shall have the additional powers
specified in Article 11 (commencing with Section 2590) of Chapter 6
of Part 4 of Division 4 of the Probate Code as the court may
designate. The report shall set forth which, if any, of the
additional powers it recommends. The report shall also recommend for
or against the imposition of each of the following disabilities on
the proposed conservatee:
(a) The privilege of possessing a license to operate a motor
vehicle. If the report recommends against this right and if the court
follows the recommendation, the agency providing conservatorship
investigation shall, upon the appointment of the conservator, so
notify the Department of Motor Vehicles.
(b) The right to enter into contracts. The officer may recommend
against the person having the right to enter specified types of
transactions or transactions in excess of specified money amounts.
(c) The disqualification of the person from voting pursuant to
Section 2208 of the Elections Code.
(d) The right to refuse or consent to treatment related
specifically to the conservatee's being gravely disabled. The
conservatee shall retain all rights specified in Section 5325.
(e) The right to refuse or consent to routine medical treatment
unrelated to remedying or preventing the recurrence of the
conservatee's being gravely disabled. The court shall make a specific
determination regarding imposition of this disability.
(f) The disqualification of the person from possessing a firearm
pursuant to subdivision (e) of Section 8103.

5358. (a) (1) When ordered by the court after the hearing required
by this section, a conservator appointed pursuant to this chapter
shall place his or her conservatee as follows:
(A) For a conservatee who is gravely disabled, as defined in
subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (h) of Section 5008,
in the least restrictive alternative placement, as designated by the
court.
(B) For a conservatee who is gravely disabled, as defined in
subparagraph (B) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (h) of Section 5008,
in a placement that achieves the purposes of treatment of the
conservatee and protection of the public.
(2) The placement may include a medical, psychiatric, nursing, or
other state-licensed facility, or a state hospital, county hospital,
hospital operated by the Regents of the University of California, a
United States government hospital, or other nonmedical facility
approved by the State Department of Mental Health or an agency
accredited by the State Department of Mental Health, or in addition
to any of the foregoing, in cases of chronic alcoholism, to a county
alcoholic treatment center.
(b) A conservator shall also have the right, if specified in the
court order, to require his or her conservatee to receive treatment
related specifically to remedying or preventing the recurrence of the
conservatee's being gravely disabled, or to require his or her
conservatee to receive routine medical treatment unrelated to
remedying or preventing the recurrence of the conservatee's being
gravely disabled. Except in emergency cases in which the conservatee
faces loss of life or serious bodily injury, no surgery shall be
performed upon the conservatee without the conservatee's prior
consent or a court order obtained pursuant to Section 5358.2
specifically authorizing that surgery.
(c) (1) For a conservatee who is gravely disabled, as defined in
subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (h) of Section 5008,
if the conservatee is not to be placed in his or her own home or the
home of a relative, first priority shall be to placement in a
suitable facility as close as possible to his or her home or the home
of a relative. For the purposes of this section, suitable facility
means the least restrictive residential placement available and
necessary to achieve the purpose of treatment. At the time that the
court considers the report of the officer providing conservatorship
investigation specified in Section 5356, the court shall consider
available placement alternatives. After considering all the evidence
the court shall determine the least restrictive and most appropriate
alternative placement for the conservatee. The court shall also
determine those persons to be notified of a change of placement. The
fact that a person for whom conservatorship is recommended is not an
inpatient shall not be construed by the court as an indication that
the person does not meet the criteria of grave disability.
(2) For a conservatee who is gravely disabled, as defined in
subparagraph (B) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (h) of Section 5008,
first priority shall be placement in a facility that achieves the
purposes of treatment of the conservatee and protection of the
public. The court shall determine the most appropriate placement for
the conservatee. The court shall also determine those persons to be
notified of a change of placement, and additionally require the
conservator to notify the district attorney or attorney representing
the originating county prior to any change of placement.
(3) For any conservatee, if requested, the local mental health
director shall assist the conservator or the court in selecting a
placement facility for the conservatee. When a conservatee who is
receiving services from the local mental health program is placed,
the conservator shall inform the local mental health director of the
facility's location and any movement of the conservatee to another
facility.
(d) (1) Except for a conservatee who is gravely disabled, as
defined in subparagraph (B) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (h) of
Section 5008, the conservator may transfer his or her conservatee to
a less restrictive alternative placement without a further hearing
and court approval. In any case in which a conservator has reasonable
cause to believe that his or her conservatee is in need of immediate
more restrictive placement because the condition of the conservatee
has so changed that the conservatee poses an immediate and
substantial danger to himself or herself or others, the conservator
shall have the right to place his or her conservatee in a more
restrictive facility or hospital. Notwithstanding Section 5328, if
the change of placement is to a placement more restrictive than the
court-determined placement, the conservator shall provide written
notice of the change of placement and the reason therefor to the
court, the conservatee's attorney, the county patient's rights
advocate and any other persons designated by the court pursuant to
subdivision (c).
(2) For a conservatee who is gravely disabled, as defined in
subparagraph (B) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (h) of Section 5008,
the conservator may not transfer his or her conservatee without
providing written notice of the proposed change of placement and the
reason therefor to the court, the conservatee's attorney, the county
patient's rights advocate, the district attorney of the county that
made the commitment, and any other persons designated by the court to
receive notice. If any person designated to receive notice objects
to the proposed transfer within 10 days after receiving notice, the
matter shall be set for a further hearing and court approval. The
notification and hearing is not required for the transfer of persons
between state hospitals.
(3) At a hearing where the conservator is seeking placement to a
less restrictive alternative placement pursuant to paragraph (2), the
placement shall not be approved where it is determined by a
preponderance of the evidence that the placement poses a threat to
the safety of the public, the conservatee, or any other individual.
(4) A hearing as to placement to a less restrictive alternative
placement, whether requested pursuant to paragraph (2) or pursuant to
Section 5358.3, shall be granted no more frequently than is provided
for in Section 5358.3.

5358.1. Neither a conservator, temporary conservator, or public
guardian appointed pursuant to this chapter, nor a peace officer
acting pursuant to Section 5358.5, shall be held civilly or
criminally liable for any action by a conservatee.

5358.2. If a conservatee requires medical treatment and the
conservator has not been specifically authorized by the court to
require the conservatee to receive medical treatment, the conservator
shall, after notice to the conservatee, obtain a court order for
that medical treatment, except in emergency cases in which the
conservatee faces loss of life or serious bodily injury. The
conservatee, if he or she chooses to contest the request for a court
order, may petition the court for hearing which shall be held prior
to granting the order.

5358.3. At any time, a conservatee or any person on his behalf with
the consent of the conservatee or his counsel, may petition the
court for a hearing to contest the rights denied under Section 5357
or the powers granted to the conservator under Section 5358. However,
after the filing of the first petition for hearing pursuant to this
section, no further petition for rehearing shall be submitted for a
period of six months.
A request for hearing pursuant to this section shall not affect
the right of a conservatee to petition the court for a rehearing as
to his status as a conservatee pursuant to Section 5364. A hearing
pursuant to this section shall not include trial by jury. If a person'
s right to vote is restored, the court shall so notify the county
elections official pursuant to subdivision (c) of Section 2210 of the
Elections Code.

5358.5. When any conservatee placed into a facility pursuant to
this chapter leaves the facility without the approval of the
conservator or the person in charge of the facility, or when the
conservator appointed pursuant to this chapter deems it necessary to
remove his conservatee to the county designated treatment facility,
the conservator may take the conservatee into custody and return him
to the facility or remove him to the county designated treatment
facility. A conservator, at his discretion, may request a peace
officer to detain the conservatee and return such person to the
facility in which he was placed or to transfer such person to the
county designated treatment facility, pursuant to Section 7325 of the
Welfare and Institutions Code. Such request shall be in writing and
accompanied by a certified copy of the letters of conservatorship
showing the person requesting detention and transfer to be the
conservator appointed pursuant to this chapter as conservator of the
person sought to be detained. Either the conservator or his assistant
or deputy may request detention under this section. Whenever
possible, persons charged with apprehension of persons pursuant to
this section shall dress in plain clothes and shall travel in
unmarked vehicles.

5358.6. Any conservator who places his or her conservatee in an
inpatient facility pursuant to Section 5358, may also require the
conservatee to undergo outpatient treatment. Before doing so, the
conservator shall obtain the agreement of the person in charge of a
mental health facility that the conservatee will receive outpatient
treatment and that the person in charge of the facility will
designate a person to be the outpatient supervisor of the
conservatee. The person in charge of these facilities shall notify
the county mental health director or his or her designee of such
agreement. At 90-day intervals following the commencement of the
outpatient treatment, the outpatient supervisor shall make a report
in writing to the conservator and to the person in charge of the
mental health facility setting forth the status and progress of the
conservatee.

5358.7. When any conservatee challenges his or her placement or
conditions of confinement pursuant to Section 1473 of the Penal Code
or Section 7250 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, notwithstanding
the continuing jurisdiction of the court which appointed the
conservators, judicial review shall be in the county where the
conservatorship was established or in the county in which the
conservatee is placed or confined. If the conservatee is released as
a result of the hearing, he or she shall be returned to the county
where the conservatorship originated.

5359. A conservator appointed under this chapter shall find
alternative placement for his conservatee within seven days after he
is notified by the person in charge of the facility serving the
conservatee that the conservatee no longer needs the care or
treatment offered by that facility.
If unusual conditions or circumstances preclude alternative
placement of the conservatee within seven days, the conservator shall
find such placement within 30 days.
If alternative placement cannot be found at the end of the 30-day
period the conservator shall confer with the professional person in
charge of the facility and they shall then determine the earliest
practicable date when such alternative placement may be obtained.

5360. The officer providing conservatorship investigation shall
recommend, in his report to the court, for or against imposition of a
disability set forth in Section 5357 on the basis of the
determination of the professional person who recommended
conservatorship pursuant to Section 5352.
The officer providing conservatorship investigation shall
recommend in his report any of the additional powers of a conservator
set forth in Section 2591 of the Probate Code if the needs of the
individual patient or his estate require such powers. In making such
determination, the officer providing conservatorship investigation
shall consult with the professional person who recommended
conservatorship pursuant to Section 5352.

5361. Conservatorship initiated pursuant to this chapter shall
automatically terminate one year after the appointment of the
conservator by the superior court. The period of service of a
temporary conservator shall not be included in the one-year period.
Where the conservator has been appointed as conservator of the
estate, the conservator shall, for a reasonable time, continue to
have such power and authority over the estate as the superior court,
on petition by the conservator, may deem necessary for (1) the
collection of assets or income which accrued during the period of
conservatorship, but were uncollected before the date of termination,
(2) the payment of expenses which accrued during period of
conservatorship and of which the conservator was notified prior to
termination, but were unpaid before the date of termination, and (3)
the completion of sales of real property where the only act remaining
at the date of termination is the actual transfer of title. If upon
the termination of an initial or a succeeding period of
conservatorship the conservator determines that conservatorship is
still required, he may petition the superior court for his
reappointment as conservator for a succeeding one-year period. The
petition must include the opinion of two physicians or licensed
psychologists who have a doctoral degree in psychology and at least
five years of postgraduate experience in the diagnosis and treatment
of emotional and mental disorders that the conservatee is still
gravely disabled as a result of mental disorder or impairment by
chronic alcoholism. In the event that the conservator is unable to
obtain the opinion of two physicians or psychologists, he shall
request that the court appoint them.
Any facility in which a conservatee is placed must release the
conservatee at his request when the conservatorship terminates. A
petition for reappointment filed by the conservator or a petition for
appointment filed by a public guardian shall be transmitted to the
facility at least 30 days before the automatic termination date. The
facility may detain the conservatee after the end of the termination
date only if the conservatorship proceedings have not been completed
and the court orders the conservatee to be held until the proceedings
have been completed.

5362. (a) The clerk of the superior court shall notify each
conservator, his or her conservatee and the person in charge of the
facility in which the person resides, and the conservatee's attorney,
at least 60 days before the termination of the one-year period. If
the conservator is a private party, the clerk of the superior court
shall also notify the mental health director and the county officer
providing conservatorship investigation pursuant to Section 5355, at
least 60 days before the termination of the one-year period.
Notification shall be given in person or by first-class mail. The
notification shall be in substantially the following form:

In the Superior Court of the State of
California
for the County of ______
The
people
of the
State No. ____________________________________
of
Californ
ia
Concerni Notice of Termination
ng
________ of Conservatorship
The people of the State of California to
_________________________________________________
_______________________________________________ :
(conservatee, conservatee's attorney,
conservator, and professional
person in charge of the facility in which the
conservatee resides, county
mental health director, and county officer
providing conservatorship
investigation.)

The one-year conservatorship established for ____ pursuant to
Welfare and Institutions Code Section ____ on ____ will
terminate on ____. If the conservator, ____, wishes to
reestablish conservatorship for another year he or she must petition
the court by ____. Subject to a request for a court hearing by jury
trial the judge may, on his or her own motion, accept or reject the
conservator's petition.
If the conservator petitions to reestablish conservatorship the
conservatee, the professional person in charge of the facility in
which
he or she resides, the conservatee's attorney, and, if the
conservator
is a private party, the county mental health director and the county
officer providing conservatorship investigation shall be notified. If
any of them request it, there shall be a court hearing or a jury
trial,
whichever is requested, on the issue of whether the conservatee is
still gravely disabled and in need of conservatorship. If the private
conservator does not petition for reappointment, the county officer
providing conservatorship investigation may recommend another
conservator. Such a petition shall be considered a petition for
reappointment as conservator.

Clerk of the Superior
Court
by ________________________
Deputy

(b) Subject to a request for a court hearing or jury trial, the
judge may, on his or her own motion, accept or reject the conservator'
s petition.
If the conservator does not petition to reestablish
conservatorship at or before the termination of the one-year period,
the court shall issue a decree terminating conservatorship. The
decree shall be sent to the conservator and his or her conservatee by
first-class mail and shall be accompanied by a statement of
California law as set forth in Section 5368.

5363. In the event the conservator continues in good faith to act
within the powers granted him in the original decree of
conservatorship beyond the one-year period, he may petition for and
shall be granted a decree ratifying his acts as conservator beyond
the one-year period. The decree shall provide for a retroactive
appointment of the conservator to provide continuity of authority in
those cases where the conservator did not apply in time for
reappointment.

5364. At any time, the conservatee may petition the superior court
for a rehearing as to his status as a conservatee. However, after the
filing of the first petition for rehearing pursuant to this section,
no further petition for rehearing shall be submitted for a period of
six months. If the conservatorship is terminated pursuant to this
section, the court shall, in accordance with subdivision (c) of
Section 2210 of the Elections Code, notify the county elections
official that the person's right to register to vote is restored.

5365. A hearing shall be held on all petitions under this chapter
within 30 days of the date of the petition. The court shall appoint
the public defender or other attorney for the conservatee or proposed
conservatee within five days after the date of the petition.

5365.1. The conservatee or proposed conservatee may, upon advice of
counsel, waive the presence at any hearing under this chapter of the
physician or other professional person who recommended
conservatorship pursuant to Section 5352 and of the physician
providing evaluation or intensive treatment. In the event of such a
waiver, such physician and professional persons shall not be required
to be present at the hearing if it is stipulated that the
recommendation and records of such physician or other professional
person concerning the mental condition and treatment of the
conservatee or proposed conservatee will be received in evidence.

5366. On or before June 30, 1970, the medical director of each
state hospital for the mentally disordered shall compile a roster of
those mentally disordered or chronic alcoholic patients within the
institution who are gravely disabled. The roster shall indicate the
county from which each such patient was admitted to the hospital or,
if the hospital records indicate that the county of residence of the
patient is a different county, the county of residence. The officer
providing conservatorship investigation for each county shall be
given a copy of the names and pertinent records of the patients from
that county and shall investigate the need for conservatorship for
such patients as provided in this chapter. After his investigation
and on or before July 1, 1972, the county officer providing
conservatorship shall file a petition of conservatorship for such
patients that he determines may need conservatorship. Court
commitments under the provisions of law in effect prior to July 1,
1969, of such patients for whom a petition of conservatorship is not
filed shall terminate and the patient shall be released unless he
agrees to accept treatment on a voluntary basis.
Each state hospital and the State Department of Mental Health
shall make their records concerning such patients available to the
officer providing conservatorship investigation.

5366.1. Any person detained as of June 30, 1969, under court
commitment, in a private institution, a county psychiatric hospital,
facility of the Veterans Administration, or other agency of the
United States government, community mental health service, or
detained in a state hospital or facility of the Veterans
Administration upon application of a local health officer, pursuant
to former Section 5567 or Sections 6000 to 6019, inclusive, as they
read immediately preceding July 1, 1969, may be detained, after
January 1, 1972, for a period no longer than 180 days, except as
provided in this section.
Any person detained pursuant to this section on the effective date
of this section shall be evaluated by the facility designated by the
county and approved by the State Department of Mental Health
pursuant to Section 5150 as a facility for 72-hour treatment and
evaluation. Such evaluation shall be made at the request of the
person in charge of the institution in which the person is detained.
If in the opinion of the professional person in charge of the
evaluation and treatment facility or his designee, the evaluation of
the person can be made by such professional person or his designee at
the institution in which the person is detained, the person shall
not be required to be evaluated at the evaluation and treatment
facility, but shall be evaluated at the institution where he is
detained, or other place to determine if the person is a danger to
others, himself, or gravely disabled as a result of mental disorder.
Any person evaluated under this section shall be released from the
institution in which he is detained immediately upon completion of
the evaluation if in the opinion of the professional person in charge
of the evaluation and treatment facility, or his designee, the
person evaluated is not a danger to others, or to himself, or gravely
disabled as a result of mental disorder, unless the person agrees
voluntarily to remain in the institution in which he has been
detained.
If in the opinion of the professional person in charge of the
facility or his designee, the person evaluated requires intensive
treatment or recommendation for conservatorship, such professional
person or his designee shall proceed under Article 4 (commencing with
Section 5250) of Chapter 2, or under Chapter 3 (commencing with
Section 5350), of Part 1 of Division 5.
If it is determined from the evaluation that the person is gravely
disabled and a recommendation for conservatorship is made, and if
the petition for conservatorship for such person is not filed by June
30, 1972, the court commitment or detention under a local health
officer application for such person shall terminate and the patient
shall be released unless he agrees to accept treatment on a voluntary
basis.

5367. Conservatorship established under this chapter shall
supersede any commitment under former provisions of this code
relating to inebriates or the mentally ill.

5368. A person who is no longer a conservatee shall not be presumed
to be incompetent by virtue of his having been a conservatee under
the provisions of this part.

5369. When a conservatee who has criminal charges pending against
him and has been found mentally incompetent under Section 1370 of the
Penal Code recovers his mental competence, the conservator shall
certify that fact to the court, sheriff, and district attorney of the
county in which the criminal charges are pending and to the
defendant's attorney of record.
The court shall order the sheriff to immediately return the
defendant to the court in which the criminal charges are pending.
Within two judicial days of the defendant's return, the court shall
hold a hearing to determine whether the defendant is entitled to be
admitted to bail or released upon his own recognizance pending
conclusion of criminal proceedings.

5370. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, a conservatorship
proceeding may be initiated pursuant to this chapter for any person
who has been charged with an offense, regardless of whether action is
pending or has been initiated pursuant to Section 1370 of the Penal
Code.

5370.1. The court in which a petition to establish a
conservatorship is filed may appoint the county counsel or a private
attorney to represent a private conservator in all proceedings
connected with the conservatorship, if it appears that the
conservator has insufficient funds to obtain the services of a
private attorney. Such appointments of the county counsel, however,
may be made only if the board of supervisors have, by ordinance or
resolution, authorized the county counsel to accept them.

5370.2. (a) Beginning January 1, 1996, the State Department of
Mental Health shall contract with a single nonprofit agency that
meets the criteria specified in subdivision (b) of Section 5510 to
conduct the following activities:
(1) Provide patients' rights advocacy services for, and conduct
investigations of alleged or suspected abuse and neglect of,
including deaths of, persons with mental disabilities residing in
state hospitals.
(2) Investigate and take action as appropriate and necessary to
resolve complaints from or concerning recipients of mental health
services residing in licensed health or community care facilities
regarding abuse, and unreasonable denial, or punitive withholding of
rights guaranteed under this division that cannot be resolved by
county patients' rights advocates.
(3) Provide consultation, technical assistance, and support to
county patients' rights advocates in accordance with their duties
under Section 5520.
(4) Conduct program review of patients' rights programs.
(b) The services shall be provided in coordination with the
appropriate mental health patients' rights advocates.
(c) (1) The contractor shall develop a plan to provide patients'
rights advocacy services for, and conduct investigations of alleged
or suspected abuse and neglect of, including the deaths of, persons
with mental disabilities residing in state hospitals.
(2) The contractor shall develop the plan in consultation with the
statewide organization of mental health patients' rights advocates,
the statewide organization of mental health clients, and the
statewide organization of family members of persons with mental
disabilities, and the statewide organization of county mental health
directors.
(3) In order to ensure that persons with mental disabilities have
access to high quality advocacy services, the contractor shall
establish a grievance procedure and shall advise persons receiving
services under the contract of the availability of other advocacy
services, including services provided by the protection and advocacy
agency specified in Section 4901 and the county patients' rights
advocates specified in Section 5520.
(d) Nothing contained in this section shall be construed to
restrict or limit the authority of the department to conduct the
reviews and investigations it deems necessary for personnel,
criminal, and litigation purposes.
(e) The State Department of Mental Health shall contract on a
multiyear basis for a contract term of up to five years.

5371. No person upon whom a duty is placed to evaluate, or who, in
fact, does evaluate a conservatee for any purpose under this chapter
shall have a financial or other beneficial interest in the facility
where the conservatee is to be, or has been placed.
Conservatorship investigation and administration shall be
conducted independently from any person or agency which provides
mental health treatment for conservatees, if it has been demonstrated
that the existing arrangement creates a conflict of interest between
the treatment needs of the conservatee and the investigation or
administration of the conservatorship. The person or agency
responsible for the mental health treatment of conservatees shall
execute a written agreement or protocol with the conservatorship
investigator and administrator for the provision of services to
conservatees. The agreement or protocol shall specify the
responsibilities of each person or agency who is a party to the
agreement or protocol, and shall specify a procedure to resolve
disputes or conflicts of interest between agencies or persons.

5372. (a) The provisions of Section 1051 of the Probate Code shall
apply to conservatorships established pursuant to this chapter.
(b) The Judicial Council shall, on or before January 1, 2008,
adopt a rule of court to implement this section.
(c) Subdivision (a) of this section shall become operative on
January 1, 2008.