California Welfare and Institutions Code

§ 4144

WIC § 4144 Effective Jan 1, 2016Div. 4 · Part 2 · Ch. 1

Statute text

(a)A state hospital psychiatrist or psychologist may refer a patient to a pilot enhanced treatment program (ETP), as defined in Section 1265.9 of the Health and Safety Code, for temporary placement and risk assessment upon determining that the patient may be at high risk of most dangerous behavior and when safe treatment is not possible in a standard treatment environment. The referral may occur after admission to the State Department of State Hospitals, and after sufficient and documented evaluation of violence risk of the patient, with notice to the patients’ rights advocate at the time of the referral. A patient shall not be placed into an ETP as a means of punishment, coercion, convenience, or retaliation.

(b)Within three business days of placement in an ETP, a dedicated forensic evaluator, who is not on the patient’s treatment team, shall complete an initial evaluation of the patient that shall include an interview of the patient’s treatment team, an analysis of diagnosis, past violence, current level of risk, and the need for enhanced treatment.

(c)(1) Within seven business days of placement in an ETP and with 72-hour notice to the patient and patients’ rights advocate, the forensic needs assessment panel (FNAP) shall conduct a placement evaluation meeting with the referring psychiatrist or psychologist, the patient and patients’ rights advocate, and the dedicated forensic evaluator who performed the initial evaluation. A determination shall be made as to whether the patient clinically requires ETP treatment.

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Legislative history

Amended by Stats. 2015, Ch. 303, Sec. 573. (AB 731) Effective January 1, 2016.