Sacramento – Assemblymember Michael Allen today introduced AB 1569 to extend "Laura's Law."
"Laura's Law" – AB 1421, authored by then-Assemblymember Helen Thomson in 2002, permits counties to provide court-ordered outpatient treatment services for people with serious mental illnesses when a court finds that a person's recent history of hospitalizations or violent behavior, coupled with noncompliance with voluntary treatment, indicate the person is likely to become dangerous or gravely disabled without the court-ordered outpatient treatment.
The law, which went into effect in January 2003, was named for Laura Wilcox, a 19-year-old college student who was gunned down by Scott Harlan Thorpe in a Nevada City public mental-health clinic in 2001.
The 41-year-old Thorpe had a long history of mental illness and had been in and out of treatment repeatedly—including at the very clinic where Laura Wilcox had been working. At the time he walked into the clinic and opened fire, killing both Laura and another clinic employee, he was clearly past the point where outpatient treatment was an option. His psychosis then led him to drive to a nearby restaurant, where he shot and killed a 24-year-old manager.
The original legislation expired in 2008, but "Laura's Law" was extended by subsequent legislation until January 1, 2013. Allen's AB 1569, which is being co-authored by Senators Lois Wolk and Leland Yee, extends "Laura's Law" through January 2019.
According to Allen, "Laura's Law" provides both the legal and clinical treatment structure necessary to give severely disabled people, who have failed to engage in treatment after repeated offers of the best and most intensive services available, the support they need to achieve stability and meaningful recovery.
"Scientific research has demonstrated that sustained outpatient commitment can be highly successful for individuals with serious mental illnesses if they have at least 180 days of service and they receive an intensive array of services needed to address their very serious problems," Allen said.
"It is critical that we extend 'Laura's Law,' which has given hope to the mentally ill through a system which offers them a continuity of care, support, and an understanding of the multiple needs of those with serious and persistent mental illnesses," he added.
Randall Hagar, director of government affairs for the California Psychiatric Association, said that his organization is "very proud to partner with Assemblymember Allen in seeking to extend the benefit of Laura's Law for six more years. Laura's Law is a proven benefit to Californians with mental illness so severe that they do not take their medications or make their doctors' appointments."
Allen, who chairs the Assembly Select Committee on State Hospital Safety, represents California's 7th Assembly District, comprised of Napa County plus parts of Solano County and Sonoma County.
Contact: David W. Miller (916) 319-2572
