State Assemblyman Sebastian Ridley-Thomas today joined fellow members of the Assembly and Senate in a bi-partisan effort to pass legislation that would provide mental and behavioral support to homeless veterans, foster youth, students in school settings and law enforcement personnel engaging persons in mental or behavioral health crises.
Mr. Ridley-Thomas has authored Assembly Bill 1299, which would provide a continuum of mental health care to foster youth whenever their residency changes from one county to another.
“Children and young people in our foster care system who depend on mental and behavioral health treatment and therapy,” Mr. Ridley-Thomas said, “should not be allowed to fall through the cracks of our county mental healthcare system by virtue of their home address.
“When foster youths move to a new residence, their mental and behavioral care and services should follow them to their new home.”
Mr. Ridley-Thomas (D-Culver City/Crenshaw District) joined Sens. Jim Beall, Andy Vidak and Assembly members Rocky Chavez, Kevin Mullin, Jim Cooper, Ling Ling Chang, Marc Levine, Brian Maienschein and Katcho Achadjian in highlighting the need to pass a major mental and behavioral health bill this year.
The legislative initiative is strongly supported by the Sacramento-based Steinberg Institute, founded by former Senate President Pro- Tem Darrell Steinberg.
Mr. Ridley-Thomas praised two bills by Sen. Beall that would provide an additional 20 hours of training to peace officers so they can properly recognize a person undergoing a mental health crisis to utilize proven training techniques to de-escalate men crisis situations.
Last July, Mr. Ridley-Thomas’s Select Committee on Mental and Behavioral Health held a special hearing in Los Angeles on police officer interactions with mentally ill persons following a violent interaction between a female pedestrian walking adjacent to a freeway and a California Highway Patrol officer.
CHP Commissioner Joseph A. Farrow, LAPD Asst. Chief Earl Paysinger, L.A. County Asst. Sheriff Teri McDonald and Robert Stresak, executive director of the California Commission on Police Officer Standards and Training, testified at the select committee hearing on the need for additional social service resources and police behavioral health training. They agreed it was vital to address the current law enforcement procedures and policies used by police agencies in circumstances involving mentally ill persons.
Follow Mr. Ridley-Thomas on Facebook at Sebastian Ridley-Thomas. Follow him on Twitter at @sridleythomas
To further contact Mr. Ridley-Thomas, see http://asmdc.org/members/a54/
Mr. MacFarlane may be contacted at fredmacfarlane@mac.com
