Pursuant to Section 5709.8 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, the State Department of State Hospitals shall be responsible for the community treatment and supervision of judicially committed patients. These services shall be available on a county or regional basis. The department may provide these services directly or through contract with private providers or counties. The program or programs through which these services are provided shall be known as the Forensic Conditional Release Program.
The department shall contact all county mental health programs by January 1, 1986, to determine their interest in providing an appropriate level of supervision and treatment of judicially committed patients at reasonable cost. County mental health agencies may agree or refuse to operate such a program.
The State Department of State Hospitals shall ensure consistent data gathering and program standards for use statewide by the Forensic Conditional Release Program.
(Amended by Stats. 2012, Ch. 24, Sec. 31. (AB 1470) Effective June 27, 2012.)