Protective placement

2. Under current law, protective services are defined as a list of services. The bill specifies that protective services are any services that, when provided to an individual with developmental disabilities, degenerative brain disorder, serious and persistent mental illness, or other like incapacity, keep the individual safe from abuse, financial exploitation, neglect, or self-neglect or prevent the individual from experiencing deterioration or from inflicting harm on himself or herself or another person, including services such as outreach, counseling, and referral for services, case management, and diagnostic evaluation.

3. The bill makes various changes to the determination of venue and county of responsibility for a petition for protective services or protective placement.

4. The bill includes, for an individual receiving the family care benefit, the care management organization in which the individual is enrolled to receive the family care benefit as an interested person and for other purposes such as receiving notice of a petition for protective services or placement and notice of the time and place of a hearing about protective placement or protective services and having the right to attend a transfer of placement hearing and present and examine witnesses at that hearing. An aging and disability resource center and a care management organization administering the family care benefit, or an organization responsible for administering or providing benefits or services under a long-term care program, is required to comply with all court orders regarding an individual to whom the center or organization provides services to ensure that the individual is placed in the least restrictive environment and receives services in the least restrictive manner consistent with the individual's needs.

5. Under current law, a hearing on protective services or protective placement is required to be open, unless the individual sought to be protected, or his or her attorney, requests the hearing be closed. In a closed hearing, only persons in interest, including representatives of providers of service and their attorneys and witnesses, may be present. The bill requires that the hearing be closed, unless the individual sought to be protected, or his or her attorney, requests the hearing be open.

6. Under current law, emergency protective services may be provided for not more than 72 hours when there is reason to believe that, if the emergency protective services are not provided, the individual entitled to the services or others will incur a substantial risk of serious physical harm. Under current law, if it is necessary to enter a premises forcibly to provide or investigate the need for emergency protective services, the county department must obtain a court order for the entry except when it appears probable that substantial physical harm, irreparable injury, or death may occur to the individual and the time required to obtain an order would result in greater risk of physical harm to the individual. The bill specifies that the emergency protective services may be provided without the individual's consent. Under the bill, the emergency protective services may be provided even if the risk of serious harm is not a risk of serious physical harm and may be provided for not more than 72 hours unless a preliminary hearing is scheduled on a petition for protective services.

Under the bill, a person is not liable for any actions performed in good faith related to emergency protective services.

7. Under current law, an individual under a protective placement may be transferred between protective placement units, between protective placement facilities, or from a protective placement unit to a medical facility. In a hearing, under current law, to contest a transfer of an individual under a protective placement, a guardian ad litem must be appointed for the individual. The bill allows an individual to be transferred from an unlocked unit to a locked unit. Under the bill, in a hearing to contest a transfer, the guardian ad litem is required, among other duties, to meet with the individual to be transferred and advise the court whether the individual meets the standard for transfer.

8. Under current law, an individual, the individual's guardian or guardian ad litem, the Department of Health Services, a certain county department or agency, or any other interested person may petition to terminate an order for protective placement or protective services and a hearing is held to determine termination.

Under the bill, when a guardian ad litem files the petition for termination or receives notice of a petition for termination, the guardian ad litem is required to do all of the following: interview the ward to explain the procedures for termination and the rights of the ward and provide that information to the ward in writing; request that the court order additional medical, psychological, or other evaluation of the ward, if necessary; review the annual report and relevant reports on the ward's condition and protective services; review the ward's condition, protective services, and rights with the guardian; if relevant or if there is ambiguity about the ward's position, report to the court the present or proposed protective services, the position of the guardian, or the recommendation of the guardian ad litem as to the best interests of the ward;

provide a summary written report to the court on certain aspects of the individual's placement and needs; and, if relevant, report to the court that the ward requests the appointment of counsel.