How to help your ill family member
A great deal of misinformation exists regarding the legal requirements for communication between behavioral health providers and family members of a person with a severe biological brain disease. Among those is a requirement that consideration must be given to relevant evidence presented by family members and to the historical course of a person’s illness. A two-page form has been developed to help family members present this information to behavioral health providers, which you can find below in the following County's five threshold languages.
The two page form has been developed jointly by the County of Santa Clara Behavioral Health Services Department, NAMI County of Santa Clara, and behavioral health consumers as a means for family members to communicate about their relative's behavioral health history pursuant to AB 1424, which requires that all individuals making decisions about involuntary treatment consider information provided by family members. After having been completed, this form will be placed in the client’s behavioral health chart.
