SB 142 BEHAVIORAL HEALTH FACILITY NOTIFICATION

Sen George K Munoz

Actions: [2] SCC/SHPAC/SJC-SCC [6]germane-SHPAC [7] DP-SJC- DP [8] PASSED/S (39-0) [13] HJC-HJC [14] DP [15] PASSED/H (61-0) SGND BY GOV (Mar. 1) Ch. 45.

Scheduled: Not Scheduled

 SB142 requires behavioral health residential facilies to allow a patients to notify a family member of their admittance to the facility. Failure to do so will reselut in a $750 civil penalty or $1,000 for additional incidences.  

 Synopsis: SB 142 relates to behavioral health by requiring residential behavioral health facilities to allow patients the opportunity to notify the patient’s family that the patient has been admitted to the facility. SB 142 imposes penalties for non-compliance.
Analysis: SB142 provides that a residential behavioral health facility shall not admit a patient for residential treatment without obtaining or providing evidence that the facility has attempted to obtain contact information for a family member of the patient. If the patient provides the information, then the facility must make the effort to contact the family member. The facility must notify the family member that the patient has been admitted.
A residential behavioral health facility that fails to comply with the requirements for notification shall be assessed a civil penalty not to exceed seven hundred fifty dollars ($750). Additional penalties of $1,000 may be assessed for each violation.