Bill Text: CA SB1043 | 2023-2024 | Regular Session | Amended

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Short-term residential therapeutic programs: dashboard: seclusion or behavioral restraints.

Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill

Status: (Passed) 2024-09-27 - Chaptered by Secretary of State. Chapter 628, Statutes of 2024. [SB1043 Detail]

Download: California-2023-SB1043-Amended.html

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Amended  IN  Senate  March 18, 2024

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2023–2024 REGULAR SESSION

Senate Bill

No. 1043

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Introduced by Senator Grove Senators Grove, Ashby, and Wahab
(Coauthors: Senators Alvarado-Gil, Eggman, Nguyen, and Rubio)

February 07, 2024

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An act relating to public social services. to add Section 1180.55 to the Health and Safety Code, relating to short-term residential therapeutic programs.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL'S DIGEST

SB 1043, as amended, Grove. Short-term residential therapeutic programs. programs: dashboard: seclusion or behavioral restraints.

Existing law, the California Community Care Facilities Act, provides for the licensing and regulation of community care facilities, including short-term residential therapeutic programs, by the State Department of Social Services, and Services. The act defines a short-term residential therapeutic program as a residential facility licensed by the department and operated by any public agency or private organization that provides an integrated program of specialized and intensive care and supervision, services and supports, treatment, and short-term, 24-hour care and supervision to children that is trauma-informed.

Existing law requires a short-term residential therapeutic program to prepare and maintain a current, written plan of operation that includes a program statement containing, among other things, a description of how the short-term residential therapeutic program will meet specified standards established by the department in collaboration with the State Department of Health Care Services. Existing law requires a short-term residential therapeutic plan to ensure the availability of licensed nursing staff, as specified.

This bill would state that it is the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation that would require the State Department of Social Services to create an online dashboard of restraint use reports at short-term residential therapeutic programs that the public may access on the department’s internet website.

Existing law requires specified facilities, including community care facilities, to conduct a clinical and quality review for each episode of the use of seclusion or behavioral restraints, as defined. Existing law requires the facility to conduct a debriefing regarding the incident with the person, and other specified individuals upon the person’s request, to discuss how to avoid a similar incident in the future. Under existing law, the person’s participation in the debriefing is voluntary.

This bill, in the case of an incident involving the use of seclusion or behavioral restraints in a short-term residential therapeutic program, would require the facility to provide a description of the incident, in both oral and written forms, to the person subject to the seclusion or behavioral restraint and, as applicable, to the person’s foster parent, guardian, or other authorized representative. The bill would require that the description contain certain information, including the actions taken during the incident and its duration, the rationale for the actions, and the personnel approving and implementing the actions. The bill would require the facility to provide a copy of the written description to the department.

Existing law requires the Secretary of California Health and Human Services or their designee to take steps to establish a system of mandatory, consistent, timely, and publicly accessible data collection regarding the use of seclusion and behavioral restraints in specified facilities, including community care facilities, that utilize seclusion and behavioral restraints. Existing law requires that data collected include, among other information, the number of incidents, the duration of time spent per incident, and the number of serious injuries or deaths occurring while the person is in seclusion or subject to behavioral restraints.

Existing law requires the secretary to develop a mechanism for making this information, as it becomes available, publicly available on the internet. Existing law requires the State Department of Social Services and other specified departments to annually provide information to the Legislature about the progress made in implementing the above-described provisions on data collection, clinical and quality review, and debriefing.

This bill would require the State Department of Social Services, by January 1, 2026, to create and post, on its internet website, a public dashboard that is specific to short-term residential therapeutic programs. The bill would require the dashboard to display the above-described data on seclusion or behavioral restraints as applicable to those programs and to display the above-described written descriptions of the incidents. The bill would require the department to update the information on a quarterly basis.

Under the bill, copies of the written descriptions and the dashboard would exclude any personally identifiable information, as specified, and the provisions of the bill would be implemented to the extent not in conflict with any applicable federal or state privacy laws.

Digest Key

Vote: MAJORITY   Appropriation: NO   Fiscal Committee: NOYES   Local Program: NO  

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Bill Text

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.

 This act shall be known, and may be cited, as Accountability in Children’s Treatment.

SEC. 2.

 Section 1180.55 is added to the Health and Safety Code, immediately following Section 1180.5, to read:

1180.55.

 (a) In the case of an incident involving the use of seclusion or behavioral restraints in a short-term residential therapeutic program, the facility shall, in conjunction with its process for a clinical and quality review and a debriefing as described in Section 1180.5, comply with both of the following steps:

(1) Provide a description of the incident, in both oral and written forms, to the person subject to the seclusion or behavioral restraint and, as applicable, to the person’s foster parent, guardian, or other authorized representative. At a minimum, the description shall contain information on all of the following:

(A) The actions taken during the incident.

(B) The rationale for the actions.

(C) The personnel approving the actions.

(D) The personnel implementing the actions.

(E) The duration of the incident.

(F) Whether the person is a minor or a nonminor dependent.

(2) Provide a copy of the written description described in paragraph (1) to the State Department of Social Services, subject to the limitations described in subdivision (c).

(b) (1) By January 1, 2026, the department shall create and post, on its internet website, a public dashboard that is specific to short-term residential therapeutic programs and that displays both of the following:

(A) Data collected pursuant to paragraph (4) of subdivision (c) of Section 1180.3, with regard to seclusion or behavioral restraints, as applicable to short-term residential therapeutic programs.

(B) Written descriptions collected pursuant to subdivision (a), subject to the limitations described in subdivision (c).

(2) The department shall update the information on the dashboard described in paragraph (1) on a quarterly basis.

(c) (1) Copies of the written descriptions provided pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) and the dashboard described in subdivision (b) shall exclude any personally identifiable information of the person, personnel, or other individuals listed in paragraph (1) of subdivision (a).

(2) This section shall be implemented to the extent not in conflict with any applicable federal or state privacy laws.

SECTION 1.

It is the intent of the Legislature to enact legislation that would require the State Department of Social Services to create an online dashboard of restraint use reports at short-term residential therapeutic programs that the public may access on the department’s internet website.