HomeMy WebLinkAbout23-1671 . 1 ,J
BOARD OF SUPERVISORS
COUNTY OF BUTTE, STATE OF CALIFORNIA
Resolution No. 23-167
RESOLUTION OF THE BOARD OF SUPERVISORS OF THE COUNTY OF BUTTE DEFERRING IMPLEMENTATION OF THE
CHANGES MADE TO WELFARE AND INSTITUTIONS CODE SECTION 5008 BY SENATE BILL 43 (2023-2024 REG SESSION)
WHEREAS, the Lanterman-Petris-Short (LPS) Act (Welfare and Institutions Code section 5100, et seq.) provides
for the evaluation and treatment of a person who is gravely disabled, which is defined to mean 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; and
WHEREAS, Senate Bill 43 (2023-2024 Reg. Session), Statutes 2023, Chapter 637 (SB 43), signed by the Governor
on October 10, 2023, expands the definition of gravely disabled to include a person who, as a result of a mental health
disorder, a severe substance use disorder, or a co-occurring mental health disorder and a severe substance use disorder,
or as a result of impairment by chronic alcoholism, is unable to provide for their basic personal needs for food, clothing,
shelter, personal safety, or necessary medical care; and
WHEREAS, this expanded definition of gravely disabled becomes effective on January 1, 2024; and
WHEREAS, the responsibility for administering the LPS system falls largely with counties; and
WHEREAS, SB 43's expansion of the definition of grave disability will require a significant effort in building and
expanding the treatment, workforce, delivery networks, housing capacity and models for locked treatment settings or
models of care for involuntary SUD treatment to successfully meet the conservatorship needs of the population; and
WHEREAS, SB 43's expansion of LPS criteria to include individuals with a severe SUD, this change in policy would
significantly expand the portion of the population potentially subject to detention and conservatorship under LPS from
around 1% to around 10% of the population based on SUD prevalence estimates; and,
WHEREAS, SB 43 will require counties to develop criteria for a "severe SUD" grave disability assessment, as no
such assessment currently exists as well as protocols for designating individuals to perform severe SUD grave disability
assessments and to recruit and hire staff to perform severe SUD grave disability assessments;
WHEREAS, SB 43 expands LPS criteria to include an assessment of whether an individual is unable to survive
safely in community or provide for necessary medical care without involuntary detention, counties will need to develop
policies and procedures for how these determinations will be made, along with qualified licensed health care providers;
and,
WHEREAS, In addition, hospitals will be without qualified designated individuals to perform the assessments
needed to remove involuntary holds, when appropriate, or recommend conservatorship when appropriate and because
there is currently no locked treatment capacity for individuals with severe SUD and limited capacity for co-occurring
medical conditions, local hospital emergency departments will be impacted by additional individuals who are boarding in
the absence of this new treatment capacity; and,
WHEREAS, SB 43 will expand the demand for county public guardians, Patient Rights Advocates, County
Counsel, and county behavioral health staff and treatment providers; and,
WHEREAS, SB 43 will require the build out of new and novel treatment capacity such as locked SUD treatment
facilities which currently do not exist in California; and,
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WHEREAS, the breadth of that effort requires more time than SB 43's effective date allows; and
WHEREAS, in recognition of this, Welfare and Institutions Code section 5008, subdivision (h)(4), as enacted by
SB 43, provides that a county, by adoption of a resolution of its governing body, may elect to defer implementation of
the changes made to this section by SB 43 until January 1, 2026, thereby postponing implementation of the new
definition of grave disability.
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the Butte County Board of Supervisors hereby elects to defer
implementation of the changes made by that bill to Welfare and Institutions Code section 5008 until January 1, 2026.
vote
PASSED AND ADOPTED by the Butte County Board of Supervisors this 12th day of December, 2023, by the following
AYES: Supervisor Connelly, Durfee, Ritter, Teeter and Chair Kimmelshue
NOES: None
ABSENT: None
ABSTAIN: None
ATTEST:
Andy Pickett, Chief Administrative Officer
and Clerk of the Board of Supervisors
B� /
Ishue, Chair
Board of Supervisors
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