5990.
(a) A county may establish a mental health multidisciplinary personnel team with the goal of facilitating the expedited identification, assessment, and linkage of justice-involved persons diagnosed with a mental illness to supportive services within that county while incarcerated and upon release from county jail and to allow provider agencies and members of the personnel team to share confidential information for the purpose of coordinating supportive services to ensure continuity of care.(b) For the purposes of this section, the following terms shall have the following meanings:
(1) “Justice-involved person” means an individual who is currently incarcerated within a county jail or who has been incarcerated in a county jail.
(2) “Mental health multidisciplinary personnel team” means any team of two or more persons who are trained in the identification and treatment of individuals with mental illness, and who are qualified to provide a broad range of services related to mental health. The team may include all of the following:
(A) Mental health and substance abuse services personnel and practitioners or other trained counseling personnel.
(B) Medical personnel with sufficient training to provide health services.
(C) Social services workers with experience or training in the provision of services to adults with mental illness and eligibility for services.
(D) Case managers or case coordinators responsible for referral, linkage, or coordination of care and services provided to adults or families.
(3) “Provider agency” means any governmental or other agency that has, as one of its purposes, the identification, assessment, and linkage of housing or supportive services to individuals with mental illness. The provider agencies serving adults that may share information under this section include all of the following entities or service agencies:
(A) Social services.
(B) Health services.
(C) Mental health services.
(D) Substance abuse services.
(E) Probation.
(F) Law enforcement.
(G) Legal counsel for the adult or family representing them in a criminal matter.
(H) Veterans services and counseling.
(I) Homeless services.
(J) Tribal programs.
(c) (1) Members of a mental health multidisciplinary personnel team engaged in the identification, assessment, and linkage of supportive services to justice-involved persons may disclose to, and exchange with, one another, information and writings that relate to any information that may be designated as confidential under state law if the member of the team reasonably believes it is required for the identification of mental illness and the provision of services. Any discussion relative to the disclosure or exchange of the information or writings during a team meeting is confidential and, notwithstanding any other law, testimony concerning that discussion is not admissible in any criminal, civil, or juvenile court proceeding.
(2) Disclosure and exchange of information pursuant to this section may occur electronically if there is adequate verification of the identity of the mental health multidisciplinary personnel who are involved in that disclosure or exchange of information.
(3) Disclosure and exchange of information pursuant to this section shall not be made to anyone other than members of the mental health multidisciplinary personnel team, and those qualified to receive information as set forth in subdivision (d).
(4) To comply with the requirements of this section, all mental health multidisciplinary team members and their departments shall maintain a secure and standardized process for sharing a person’s confidential records. This process shall ensure both of the following:
(A) All records and information is kept confidential in a manner that complies with all privacy laws.
(B) All records are guarded against unauthorized access.
(d) The mental health multidisciplinary personnel team may designate persons qualified pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (b) to be a member of the team for a particular case. A person designated as a team member pursuant to this subdivision may receive and disclose relevant information and records, subject to the confidentiality provisions of subdivision (g).
(e) (1) The sharing of information permitted pursuant to subdivision (c) shall be governed by protocols developed in each county describing how and what information may be shared by the mental health multidisciplinary personnel team to ensure that confidential information gathered by the team is not disclosed in violation of state or federal law. A copy of the protocols shall be distributed to each participating agency and to persons in those agencies who participate in the multidisciplinary personnel team, and shall be posted on the county’s internet website within 30 days of adoption. Each county shall provide a copy of its protocols to the State Department of Health Care Services. This subdivision shall not be construed to require the department to review or approve any multidisciplinary personnel team county protocols that it receives.
(2) A protocol developed in a county pursuant to paragraph (1) shall include, but not be limited to, all of the following:
(A) The items of information or data elements that will be shared.
(B) The participating agencies.
(C) A description of how the information shared pursuant to this section will be used by the mental health multidisciplinary personnel team only for the intended purposes specified in subdivision (a).
(D) The information retention schedule that participating agencies shall follow.
(E) A requirement that no confidential information or writings be disclosed to persons who are not members of the multidisciplinary personnel team, except to the extent required or permitted under applicable law.
(F) A requirement that participating agencies develop uniform written policies and procedures that include security and privacy awareness training for employees who will have access to information pursuant to this protocol.
(G) A requirement that all persons who have access to information shared by participating agencies sign a confidentiality statement that includes, at a minimum, general use, security safeguards, acceptable use, and enforcement policies.
(H) A requirement that participating agencies employ security controls that meet applicable federal and state standards, including reasonable administrative, technical, and physical safeguards to ensure data confidentiality, integrity, and availability and to prevent unauthorized or inappropriate access, use, or disclosure.
(I) A requirement that participating agencies take reasonable steps to ensure information is complete, accurate, and up to date to the extent necessary for the agency’s intended purposes and that the information has not been altered or destroyed in an unauthorized manner.
(f) All transmissions made pursuant to this section shall comply with the Confidentiality of Medical Information Act (Part 2.6 (commencing with Section 56) of Division 1 of the Civil Code), Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 123100) of Part 1 of Division 106 of the Health and Safety Code, the Information Practices Act of 1977 (Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 1798) of Title 1.8 of Part 4 of Division 3 of the Civil Code), the federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) (Public Law 104-191), the federal Health Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health Act (HITECH) (Public Law 111-5), and the corresponding implementing regulations relating to privacy and security in Parts 160 and 164 of Title 45 of the Code of Federal Regulations.
(g) Every member of the mental health multidisciplinary personnel team who receives information or records regarding a justice-involved person in that member’s capacity as a member of the team shall be under the same privacy and confidentiality obligations and subject to the same confidentiality penalties as the person disclosing or providing the information or records. The information or records obtained shall be maintained in a manner that ensures the maximum protection of privacy and confidentiality rights.
(h) Nothing in this section shall be construed to supersede or preempt the applicability of any existing state or federal privacy laws, including, but not limited to, the following:
(1) The federal Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 (HIPAA) (Public Law 104-191).
(2) The Information Practices Act of 1977 Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 1798) of Title 1.8 of Part 4 of Division 3 of the Civil Code.
(3) The Confidentiality of Medical Information Act (Part 2.6 (commencing with Section 56) of Division 1 of the Civil Code).
(4) Section 5328 of the Welfare and Institutions Code.
(i) Information and records communicated or provided to the team members by all providers and agencies shall be deemed private and confidential and shall be protected from discovery and disclosure by all applicable statutory and common law protections. Existing civil and criminal penalties shall apply to the inappropriate disclosure of information held by the team members.