Who
- Health care facilities and partners in and around Sacramento County
What
When Senate Bill (SB) 43 was signed on Oct. 10, 2023, the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors, along with all but two counties in the state, chose to postpone the Jan. 1, 2024, implementation date — this way, the counties could assess their overall readiness from a behavioral health standpoint to accommodate expanding the definition of “gravely disabled” for purposes of placing a person on an involuntary psychiatric hold or a conservatorship.
County staff has worked hard over the past 12 months to gear up for this change in the law, collaborating closely with hospitals and other partners and counties throughout 2024.
On Nov. 5, county staff recommended continuing the delay for an additional six months, effectively pushing the implementation date to July 1, 2025, due to the lack of existing receiving facilities that provide substance use disorder treatment. Also, many other initiatives are starting at the same time, which is overwhelming not only to county staff, but also to health care organizations throughout the community. For example, the CARE Act and Assembly Bill 40 take effect on Jan. 1, 2025, and new California Advancing and Innovating Medi-Cal (CalAIM) programs have been rolling out over the last two years. Integrating all these new programs will be challenging.
Despite the recommendation, the board voted to override the staff’s recommendation to delay further. Implementation will go live on Jan. 1, 2025.
Takeaway/Next Steps
In March, Hospital Council will reconvene its seven-county regional workgroup to assess the implementation’s impacts during its first few months in effect.
Contact
RVP Brian Jensen at bjensen@hospitalcouncil.org