February 5, 2019
CALIFORNIA COUNTIES' USE OF LAURA'S LAW OFF TO "A PROMISING START," SURVEY FINDS
ARLINGTON, VIRGINIA - Today, the Treatment Advocacy Center released A Promising Start: Results from a California Survey Assessing the Use of Laura's Law. The report provides the first-ever county-by-county analysis of California's use of Laura's Law -- a state program designed to serve those suffering from severe mental illness.
"The results of our survey show that Laura's Law is off to a promising start," said John Snook, the executive director of the Treatment Advocacy Center, which was a strong proponent of the law and the targeted services for people with severe mental illness that it authorizes. "There are still large gaps in participation and in reporting, but our overall takeaway is that the program is a success. Given these results, every remaining county board of supervisors should adopt and implement Laura's Law."
A Promising Start applauds the much-improved outcomes of people who were enrolled in Laura's Law programs, including decreases in psychiatric hospitalizations, crisis contacts, incarcerations and homelessness. However, the report finds that fuller implementation of Laura's Law, including the use of more effective court-ordered supervision of treatment, would better serve the population the law was created to help.
"Laura's Law" is named after Laura Wilcox, a volunteer at a mental health clinic in Nevada County, who was a victim of a preventable act of violence at the hands of someone with untreated mental illness. Signed into law in 2002, it allows California counties to implement assisted outpatient treatment (AOT) programs, or court-ordered treatment in the community, for individuals with severe untreated mental illness who might lack insight into their illness, and who have a history of not adhering to prescribed treatments or of repeated hospitalization.
With recent action by Solano County, 20 California counties now have some form of Laura's Law, representing roughly 65 percent of the state's total population.
Fuller implementation of Laura's Law is needed to improve access to treatment for the approximately one million Californians with severe mental illness, as many as half of whom are untreated on any given day. Without robust use of programs like Laura's Law, these individuals cycle through the various public service systems, become entangled in the criminal justice system and take up residence on the streets and in dangerous encampments.
A Promising Start's assessment of existing Laura's Law programs in California, and specific recommendations for better and more robust implementation of the treatment law, is available at <www.treatmentadvocacycenter.org/a-promising-start>.
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The Treatment Advocacy Center is a national non-profit organization dedicated to eliminating barriers to the timely and effective treatment of severe mental illness by promoting laws, policies and practices for improved delivery of psychiatric care for severe and persistent psychiatric illnesses, such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder.