[NAMI El Dorado County]
6-Apr-2018: This letter has been sent to the El Dorado County Board of Supervisors and House of Representatives Tom McClintock
The big differentiator is the addition of a MEDICAL TREATMENT factor. The current law is focused on one’s ability to provide food, clothing, or shelter. Far too often we hear from families in our county well educated and skilled in navigating gaps in services and supports available. They cite that lack of MEDICAL treatment is resulting in physical harm (brain or otherwise) or death of their loved ones. The existing law is too narrow and completely misses the boat on medical treatment. This bill can save lives and preserve long-term cognition. Already, a dozen NAMI affiliates in CA are on-board and more onboarding each week providing their advocacy…we just learned about this on Monday. If you wish to share opinion at the State Capital in Sacramento 10-April please contact us (as NAMI Sacramento is coordinating a public opinion sharing.)
This is a key ingredient of the bill:
or medical treatment, if the lack of, or failure to receive, that treatment may result in substantial physical harm or death.
https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201720180AB1971 on-boarding
This is the key ingredient:
(A) A condition in which a person, as a result of a mental health disorder, is unable to provide for his or her basic personal needs for food, clothing, or shelter. incapable of making informed decisions about, or providing for, his or her own basic personal needs for food, clothing, shelter, or medical care without significant supervision and assistance from another person and, as a result of being incapable of making these informed decisions, the person is at risk of substantial bodily harm, dangerous worsening of a concomitant serious physical illness, significant psychiatric deterioration, or mismanagement of his or her essential needs that could result in bodily harm.
