Bill > AB1387

This bill allows counties to establish a behavioral health multidisciplinary personnel team (MDT) focused on helping justice-involved individuals (people currently or recently incarcerated in county jail) who are diagnosed with mental illness. The team, composed of professionals from various fields like social services, healthcare, behavioral health, probation, and law enforcement, can collaborate to identify, assess, and link these individuals to supportive services both while incarcerated and after release. The bill permits team members to share confidential information necessary for coordinating care, with strict protocols to protect individual privacy. Each county must develop specific guidelines for information sharing that comply with existing privacy laws like HIPAA, ensuring that shared information is secure, accurate, and only used for intended purposes. Team members who receive confidential information are bound by the same privacy and confidentiality obligations as the original information provider, with potential penalties for inappropriate disclosure. The goal is to create a comprehensive, coordinated approach to supporting mentally ill justice-involved individuals and ensuring continuity of care throughout their transition from incarceration back into the community.

Budget and Finance, Business and Industry, Justice

https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billStatusClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260AB1387