June 14, 2024
The Honorable Aisha Wahab
California State Senate
1021 O Street, Suite 7330
Sacramento, CA 95814
RE: Senate Bill 402 (Wahab) – OPPOSE
Dear Senator Wahab:
Mental Health America of California (MHAC) respectfully opposes Senate Bill 402, legislation which expands eligibility of people who can place individuals on a 5150 hold to private practicing licensed mental health professionals.
MHAC is a peer-run organization leading the state in behavioral health public policy and advocacy since 1957. The mission of MHAC is to assist and encourage communities, families and individuals to experience hope, wellness and recovery from mental health and substance use disorder issues through voluntary services that are delivered in their local community with compassion and respect for everyone’s dignity and autonomy. Access to voluntary mental and behavioral health support and services are key to preventing people from experiencing a crisis.
If a person is experiencing a crisis and needs to be placed on a 5150 hold, the decision should be made by professionals held to the highest standards. However, Senate Bill 402 lowers these standards by allowing private practicing licensed professionals to be eligible for county designation to write holds. These professionals do not need to be county employees or contractors, which creates a gap in accountability. Not all mental health professionals receive the same training or have experience with crisis response, and this bill does not ensure that the most qualified professionals are making these critical decisions.
Previously adopted legislation, Senate Bill 43 (Eggman), expanded the criteria for placing individuals on a 5150 hold to include those with a “severe substance use disorder” or a “co-occurring mental health disorder and a severe substance use disorder.” Under the current bill language, this expansion would allow a marriage and family therapist to write a hold for someone with a substance use disorder, which may not be appropriate given their training and experience.
This bill poses a variety of challenges regarding the accountability of hold writers and the applicability of the different types of licensed mental health professional to be writing holds during different types of mental and behavioral health crises. Furthermore, denying an individual of their civil rights is not conducive to the recovery of an individual and the decision should not be made by unqualified persons. For these reasons, we oppose Senate Bill 402. If you or your staff have any questions, or if Mental Health America of California can be of any assistance on this or any other behavioral health bill, please do not hesitate to contact me at hstrunk@mhac.org, or our Interim Director of Public Policy, Karen Vicari at kvicari@mhacofca.org.
In Community,
Heidi Strunk
President & CEO
Mental Health America of California