The Patients’ Rights Advocates of Alameda County is a program of the Mental Health Association of Alameda County. The program employs a team of eight staff members who perform the duties required of County Patients’ Rights Advocates (aka Title 9 Advocates). The program responds to questions and complaints from consumers being treated in psychiatric hospitals/facilities and from consumers who are residents of long-term facilities or adult residential facilities who feel one or more of their rights have been denied.
Anyone with a question or concern about the treatment of someone receiving mental health services in Alameda County is welcome to call.
The toll-free telephone # in Alameda County is (800) 734-2504. Outside the county, call (510) 835-2505.
Program Details
Californians with mental illnesses who are receiving treatment in mental health facilities, including those persons subject to involuntary commitment, are guaranteed numerous rights under Welfare and Institutions Code (W&I Code), Section 5325, including the right to be free from abuse and neglect, the right to privacy, dignity, and humane care, and the right to basic procedural protections in the commitment process. In Alameda County, ACBHD contracts with the Mental Health Association of Alameda County (MHAAC) to support and advocate on behalf of individuals who receive treatment.
Services
Listed below are the services that the Patients’ Rights Advocates of Alameda County perform for clients. Some of the services provided to consumers also serve to support family members and treatment providers.
- Advocates investigate complaints received of suspected abuse/neglect or violations of patients’ rights. In cases where complaints are substantiated, the program assists facilities with solutions and ways to prevent future violations.
- Advocates monitor psychiatric facilities for compliance with codes and regulations related to mental health treatment and patients’ rights. The program advises facility administration and treatment professionals in the development of plans and procedures for maintaining compliance with statutes. There is a particular focus on statutes governing patients’ rights and regulating due process for clients subject to involuntary detention and treatment within mental health facilities.
- Advocates represent clients subject to involuntary detention/treatment in hearings held within facilities. Mental health consumers have the same legal and constitutional rights as all citizens. The hearings are court proceedings meant to ensure that clients’ liberties and due process rights are respected in accordance with the basic principles of the Constitution.
- Advocates provide representation at Certification Review Hearings, which happen automatically whenever clients are involuntarily detained for treatment for longer than 72 hours (after a 5150 expires).
- Advocates provide representation at Capacity (Riese) Hearings, which are held when a doctor seeks court authority to treat a client with psychotropic medication even if the client objects to the medication. A Capacity Hearing is held when a client, involuntarily hospitalized, does not wish to take psychotropic medication prescribed by the treating doctor and that doctor believes the client’s refusal is the result of a mental illness interfering with the client’s rational thought process to make treatment decisions.
When the Patients’ Rights Advocate represents a client in one of these hearings, that advocate works on behalf of the consumer and presents legal arguments to support the position of the client. Advocates are not members of any treatment team and represent the expressed interest of their clients.
- Advocates provide education to consumers, facility staff members, family members, and the general public on subjects related to patients’ rights, including information on the LPS Act and other laws governing the rights of individuals receiving mental health treatment.
- Advocates provide consultation to treatment staff and administrators to help them answer questions on subjects such as denial of patients’ rights, involuntary detention, mental health hearings, and confidentiality. The advocacy staff can also answer questions from outpatient mental health providers, family advocacy programs, and anyone with concerns about the rights of mental health consumers. Providers are encouraged to consult with Patients’ Rights Advocates in any case where they are unsure whether a treatment decision may result in denying clients’ rights and need to ensure they are in compliance with laws governing due process and patients’ rights.
Resources
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