New California law could force people with mental illness to seek treatment

A new California law will expand the state’s ability to force residents with serious mental illness and substance abuse problems into treatment.

Senate Bill 43, signed into law Tuesday by Gov. Gavin Newsom (D), expands the definition of “seriously ill” to include people unable to meet their basic needs due to untreated mental illness or disorder linked to the use of unhealthy substances. These individuals will not be eligible for guardianship, effectively requiring them to undergo mental health treatment.

The law is part of efforts to combat homelessness in the Golden State, with local governments complaining that their hands are tied if a person refuses to receive help. However, the plan has also raised concerns among civil liberties advocates, who fear it would allow the state to impose too much of its will on individuals.

The legislation, first introduced by Sen. Susan Talamantes Eggman (D), will update situations “in which this intervention may be considered and create the first-ever meaningful transparency of data and equity in health care conservatorships mental”.

“California is undertaking a major overhaul of our mental health system. The mental health crisis affects us all, and the people who need help most have too often been overlooked,” Newsom said in a statement. “We work to ensure no one falls through the cracks and that people get the help they need and the respect they deserve. »

California, home to more than 171,000 homeless people — about 30 percent of the total U.S. homeless population — has spent more than $20 billion in recent years to address the problem, according to the Associated Press.

The law updates the Lanterman-Petris-Short (LPS) Act, passed in 1967 to end involuntary and indefinite detention.

“The LPS Act was passed at a time when public policy was primarily about housing people with mental illnesses. The law established strong and important civil liberties protections to ensure individual rights are protected,” Eggman said in a statement.

“As with many things that are decades old, it is long overdue to make some adjustments to the law to account for the realities we see on our streets today. »