2005 California Welfare and Institutions Code Sections 5801-5802 Article 1. Legislative Findings and Intent

5801.  (a) A system of care for adults and older adults with severe
mental illness results in the highest benefit to the client, family,
and community while ensuring that the public sector meets its legal
responsibility and fiscal liability at the lowest possible cost.
   (b) The underlying philosophy for these systems of care includes
the following:
   (1) Mental health care is a basic human service.
   (2) Seriously mentally disordered adults and older adults are
citizens of a community with all the rights, privileges,
opportunities, and responsibilities accorded other citizens.
   (3) Seriously mentally disordered adults and older adults usually
have multiple disorders and disabling conditions and should have the
highest priority among adults for mental health services.
   (4) Seriously mentally disordered adults and older adults should
have an interagency network of services with multiple points of
access and be assigned a single person or team to be responsible for
all treatment, case management, and community support services.
   (5) The client should be fully informed and volunteer for all
treatment provided, unless danger to self or others or grave
disability requires temporary involuntary treatment.
   (6) Clients and families should directly participate in making
decisions about services and resource allocations that affect their
lives.
   (7) People in local communities are the most knowledgeable
regarding their particular environments, issues, service gaps and
strengths, and opportunities.
   (8) Mental health services should be responsive to the unique
characteristics of people with mental disorders including age,
gender, minority and ethnic status, and the effect of multiple
disorders.
   (9) For the majority of seriously mentally disordered adults and
older adults, treatment is best provided in the client's natural
setting in the community.  Treatment, case management, and community
support services should be designed to prevent inappropriate removal
from the natural environment to more restrictive and costly
placements.
   (10) Mental health systems of care shall have measurable goals and
be fully accountable by providing measures of client outcomes and
cost of services.
   (11) State and county government agencies each have
responsibilities and fiscal liabilities for seriously mentally
disordered adults and seniors.
5802.  (a) The Legislature finds that a mental health system of care
for adults and older adults with severe and persistent mental
illness is vital for successful management of mental health care in
California.  Specifically:
   (1) A comprehensive and coordinated system of care includes
community-based treatment, outreach services and other early
intervention strategies, case management, and interagency system
components required by adults and older adults with severe and
persistent mental illness.
   (2) Mentally ill adults and older adults receive service from many
different state and county agencies, particularly criminal justice,
employment, housing, public welfare, health, and mental health.  In a
system of care these agencies collaborate in order to deliver
integrated and cost-effective programs.
   (3) The recovery of persons with severe mental illness and their
financial means are important for all levels of government, business,
and the community.
   (4) System of care services which ensure culturally competent care
for persons with severe mental illness in the most appropriate,
least restrictive level of care are necessary to achieve the desired
performance outcomes.
   (5) Mental health service providers need to increase
accountability and further develop methods to measure progress
towards client outcome goals and cost effectiveness as required by a
system of care.
   (b) The Legislature further finds that the adult system of care
model, beginning in the 1989-90 fiscal year through the
implementation of Chapter 982 of the Statutes of 1988, provides
models for adults and older adults with severe mental illness that
can meet the performance outcomes required by the Legislature.
   (c) The Legislature also finds that the system components
established in adult systems of care are of value in providing
greater benefit to adults and older adults with severe and persistent
mental illness at a lower cost in California.
   (d) Therefore, using the guidelines and principles developed under
the demonstration projects implemented under the adult system of
care legislation in 1989, it is the intent of the Legislature to
accomplish the following:
   (1) Encourage each county to implement a system of care as
described in this legislation for the delivery of mental health
services to seriously mentally disordered adults and older adults.
   (2) To promote system of care accountability for performance
outcomes which enable adults with severe mental illness to reduce
symptoms which impair their ability to live independently, work,
maintain community supports, care for their children, stay in good
health, not abuse drugs or alcohol, and not commit crimes.
   (3) Maintain funding for the existing pilot adult system of care
programs that meet contractual goals as models and technical
assistance resources for future expansion of system of care programs
to other counties as funding becomes available.
   (4) Provide funds for counties to establish outreach programs and
to provide mental health services and related medications, substance
abuse services, supportive housing or other housing assistance,
vocational rehabilitation, and other nonmedical programs necessary to
stabilize homeless mentally ill persons or mentally ill persons at
risk of being homeless, get them off the street, and into treatment
and recovery, or to provide access to veterans' services that will
also provide for treatment and recovery.