League supports mental health legislation

The League of Women Voters of Humboldt County supports both SB 1337 (McGuire), Coordinated Specialty Care for Firstepisode Psychosis, and SB 1338 (Umberg and Eggman), Community Assistance, Recovery, and

Empowerment (CARE) Court Program. These bills pioneer the shift away from a chaotic, crisis-driven system to a true, medically sound, data-driven health care system.

SB 1337 mandates insurance coverage for coordinated specialty care (CSC) services for the treatment of first-episode psychosis; team-based, whole-person, community-based care shown to be effective in promoting recovery at the crucial time of the onset of serious psychiatric symptoms.

SB 1338 supports the best medical practices available. It is:

• Evidence-based (programs and treatments grounded in positive results)

• Community-focused (offering the wrap-around support that truly helps people recover)

• Actively addressing the reality of patient refusal of care (anosognosia), a condition of the brain that leads many who suffer from serious mental illness to believe they do not need medical assistance.

• The CARE Court program addresses this condition realistically. We would not allow citizens who suffer from dementia to wander the streets without care through some misapplication of individual rights laws; we should not do so with anyone suffering the delusion of anosognosia.

Together, this legislation provides recovery, hope and dignity, and signals a new approach to behavioral health services for all citizens of California.

— Molly Cate, chair of the League of Women Voters of Humboldt County Behavioral

Health Study