Report 2013-103 Recommendation 18 Responses

Report 2013-103: Armed Persons With Mental Illness: Insufficient Outreach From the Department of Justice and Poor Reporting From Superior Courts Limit the Identification of Armed Persons With Mental Illness (Release Date: October 2013)

Recommendation #18 To: Justice, Department of

To ensure that all applicable information from State Hospitals is communicated to Justice, by March 31, 2014, Justice and State Hospitals should establish a written understanding of the method and frequency with which State Hospitals will report prohibited individuals to Justice.

1-Year Agency Response

The MOU to formalize the working agreement to develop an automated electronic process for DSH to report state hospital patient data to the Department was approved and signed by both agencies.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 1-Year Status: Fully Implemented

6-Month Agency Response

A subsequent conference call meeting was held on February 26, 2014 with staff from the Department and DSH. DSH stated that they were working on a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to formalize the working agreement of developing the automated electronic process for DSH to report state hospital patient data to the Department. In the meantime, DSH is continuing to utilize MHRS to report mental health prohibition information to the Department. On April 11, 2014, the Department sought an update from DSH regarding the status of the drafting of the MOU. DSH provided a draft MOU on April 21, 2014. The MOU is being routed for review and/or edits. A signed MOU is expected to be completed by July 1, 2014.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 6-Month Status: Partially Implemented

60-Day Agency Response

The Department sent a letter on November 19, 2013 to Acting Director of the Department of State Hospitals (DSH), Cliff Allenby. The letter addressed the establishment of regular meetings and development of an agreement between DOJ and DSH relative to timely reporting of mental health determinations as necessary to implement the State Auditor's findings and recommendations. Subsequently on December 12, 2013, DSH Attorney Nicole Harrigan and AC Buford met to discuss the reporting to DOJ by state hospitals. Currently, state hospitals only report Welfare and Institution Code section 5150, 5250, and 5270 patients to DOJ. However, AC Buford advised Attorney Harrigan that state hospitals also house and process patients with Penal Code section 1026 and 1370 commitments which are also reportable. Attorney Harrigan indicated that 90% of state hospital patients who fall under sections 1026 and 1370 should be reported to DOJ by state superior courts at the time of adjudication. Attorney Harrigan further indicated that requiring state hospitals to reports these types of determinations would result in a voluminous increase in state hospital reporting, thus requiring a more robust electronic reporting process. Consequently, DSH and DOJ agreed on a plan to hold a subsequent meeting on January 14, 2014, to discuss development of a more robust and automated electronic process for DSH to report state hospital patient data to DOJ. In the interim, DSH will continue using the Department's electronic Mental Health Reporting System (MHRS) to report 5150, 5250, and 5270 patient data to DOJ.

California State Auditor's Assessment of 60-Day Status: Partially Implemented

All Recommendations in 2013-103

Agency responses received are posted verbatim.