The CRB is a government body which has been set up to help organisations in the public, private and voluntary sectors by identifying candidates who may be unsuitable to work with children or other vulnerable members of society. Given the number of high profile cases where sex offenders or other criminals have ended up working with children, the Government has issued guidance to schools and care homes, to ensure that they conduct proper checks on applicant’s backgrounds to determine whether or not they should be working with children and vulnerable adults.

A reader of this blog has said that, because she was sectioned by the police under the Mental Health Act, that she is afraid that it will show up on her CRB check. Because she works with children, she is now afraid that she won’t be able to work with them.

If any of you have ever been sectioned by the police, does this mean that it would show on your CRB check?

I have now researched this and, so far, my research says that being sectioned in relation to a non-criminal act will not show up on a CRB check because merely being sectioned is not a “crime” or an “criminal offence”. The fact that the police were involved does not make you a criminal.

If, however, your sectioning was as a result of a criminal act, then it may well show up. If that’s the case then you need to determine what type of offence it was as there are varying degrees of severity and varying types of offence. So, for example, if it was any kind of sexual offence, then clearly that will be far more serious then a lesser offence. If you have any questions or doubts about your rights, you can go on the CRB website and it will tell you.

On a personal note, I do not have any criminal records, although I was arrested once when I was a University student – the details are at the end if you want a laugh! Nothing to do with any criminal act on my part, I hasten to add.

the worst I have ever done was when I was a University student, in Oxford. My crime was to try and reason with a policeman who was then trying to arrest my drunken Rugby playing boyfriend following a Rugby team strip tease at a friends 21st birthday party – not unusual behaviour for Rugby players or for undergraduates but the local police were not amused! The policeman’s wife had been offended by the sight of so many bottoms (she was driving behind the bus containing the Rugby team) that she insisted on them being arrested!). I told the policeman that he couldn’t arrest my boyfriend unless he could identify him in court; given that my boyfriend’s bottom was the only part of him that his wife had seen, the police would never have been able to identify him!!! The policeman got so cross when I was telling him the law, that he arrested me and threw me in a cell for the day to teach me a lesson!!! I hadn’t sworn, nor threatened, nor touched him but I had told him the law and clearly that didn’t impress him…….

So, apart from that, I’ve never been a criminal, so my CRB check should be clear.

As my readers will know, I’m an English mother with Bipolar who also happens to be a lawyer, but I’m NOT a family or mental health lawyer. Nor am I an expert in American Family law or mental health law. However, I am continuing to research much of the law governing mental health in the context of parenting children whilst suffering from Bipolar.

As such, whenever I find some useful information, I shall post it on the site and hopefully, the site will become increasingly informative and useful as a source of knowledge sharing with other sufferers and their families.

So here goes: Wikepedia’s explanation of the Californian Welfare and Institutions Code:

5150 is a section of California’s Welfare and Institutions Code which allows a qualified officer or clinician to involuntarily confine a person deemed a danger to himself, herself, and/or others^[1] and/or gravely disabled. A qualified officer, which includes any California peace officer, as well as any specifically designated county clinician, can request the confinement after signing a written declaration. When used as a term, 5150 can informally refer to the person being confined or to the declaration itself.

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 The process

Confinement under section 5150 lasts for up to 72 hours from the time the declaration is written. WIC 5151 requires an assessment prior to admission to the facility in order .. to determine the appropriateness of the involuntary detention. During the period of confinement a confined individual is evaluated by a mental health professional to determine if a psychiatric admission is warranted. Confinement and evaluation usually occurs in a county mental health hospital or in a designated Emergency Department. If the individual is then admitted to a psychiatric unit only a psychiatrist may rescind the 5150 and allow the client to either remain voluntarily or be discharged.

On or previous to the expiration of the 72 hours the psychiatrist must assess the client to see if they still meet criteria for hospitalization. If so the client may be offered a voluntary admission, if it is refused then another hold (the 5250) must be written to continue the involuntary confinement of the client. If the 72 hour timeframe has elapsed before the client is offered a voluntary admission or placed on the 5250 then the client must be immediately released.

A 5150 written by a peace officer is valid in any county in California, therefore a client could be moved from one county to another according to available resources. When written by a designated clinician the hold is only valid in that county. The designated clinician is also only able to write a 5150 while working in the facility they are employed at unless they work as part of a Psychiatric mobile response team.

Contesting the hold

The person under a 5150 hold has a limited ability to contest the legality of the hold. While the person has the right of demanding a writ of habeas corpus, it is up to the county public defender whether to file it or not. Since such a writ may take a day or two to file, the public defender usually chooses not to as the hold would expire before the anticipated court date.

 5150 criteria

The criteria for writing requires probable cause. This includes danger to self, danger to others together with some indication, prior to the administering of the hold, of symptoms of a mental disorder, and/or grave disability – as noted below. The conditions must exist under the context of a mental illness and the person must be refusing psychiatric treatment.

1. Danger to self – the person must be an immediate threat to themselves, usually by being suicidal. Someone who is severely depressed and wishes to die would fall under this category.
2. Danger to others – the person must be an immediate threat to someone else. A person hearing voices telling them to kill someone would fall under this category.
3. Gravely disabled
   1. Adult – the person (over 18 years old) is unable to provide for their food, clothing, and/or shelter – and there is no indication that anyone is willing or able to assist them in procuring these needs. This does not necessarily mean homeless, as a homeless person who is able to seek housing (even in a temporary shelter) when weather demands it would not fall under this category.
   2. Minor – the person (under 18 years old) is unable to provide for their food, clothing, and/or shelter – even if these are supplied directly.
4. Mental disorder Undefined by statute or regulation. On page 14 of the LA County LPS Designation Manual it is stated that The initiator must be able to articulate behavioral symptoms of a mental disorder either temporary or prolonged (People v. Triplett,(1983) 144 Cal. App. 3d 283.)

Required documentation

There are two legal documents, the 5150 application itself and the patient advisement form (5157(c)). The LA County LPS Designation Manual stipulates that, prior to the completion of the 5150 application, the initiator must conduct and document a face-to-face interview with the patient. On the 5150 application, the initiator is required to ..give sufficiently detailed information to support the belief that the person for whom the is in fact a danger to others, a danger to himself/herself and/or gravely disabled. The 5150 Application contains the words …as a result of a mental disorder.. but does not stipulate documentation of evidence of ..behavioral symptoms of a mental disorder….., defined in People v. Triplett (1983) as a necessary part of probable cause. The 5150 Application requests no explicit documentation of the required face-to-face interview.

 Patient rights while under section 5150

Patients admitted under section 5150 retain all rights under the Lanterman-Petris-Short Act. With the exception of being able to freely leave the facility they are placed in, patients have all rights accorded to a voluntarily admitted client. This includes the rights to:

• humane care
• religious freedom and practice
• participate in publicly supported education
• be free from abuse or neglect
• refuse medications except in emergency situations where danger to life is present; or by court order where the patient is found to lack the capacity to give or refuse informed consent via either a Riese hearing or via conservatorship.
• wear their own clothes
• visitors
• writing materials (including sending mail though they may be charged for postage)
• safe storage and access to their personal property
• have access to private phone conversations (though may be responsible for toll charges)
• speak with a Patient’s Rights Advocate
• go outside for exercise and leisure (usually in a fenced area)
• access their money in amounts for small purchases (vending machine, etc.)
• be free from discrimination

Good cause

Denying any of the patient’s rights requires good cause. Good cause being defined as the belief of the professional in charge of care for the client that the specific right would cause:

1. a danger to self or others; or
2. a serious infringement on the rights of others; or
3. serious damage to the facility;

and that there is no less restrictive measure that would protect against those occurrences.

Patient rights can not be denied as a condition of admission nor as part of a treatment plan such as being labeled a privilege or as punishment. Any time a right is denied under good cause it must be documented in the patient’s medical record and explained to the patient. The denial must be reviewed regularly and must be removed once good cause no longer exists.

References

1. ^ 5150 and You. Retrieved on October 3, 2006.Frequently asked questions about section 5150 at the Fresno County, California, Human Services System.

• (Revised April 2004) Rights for Individuals in Mental Health Facilities. California Department of Mental Health. 

External links

• California Welfare and Institutions Code, Sections 5150-5157
• contrast/compare with Rogers Law, concerning involuntary treatment/commitment in Massachusetts
• Los Angeles County LPS Designation Manual. This is a guide to procedures only. Accepted practice may vary significantly from these guidelines.

I will endeavour to comment on these pieces of legislation once I have researched them further. In the meantime, if any of you wish to add your own comments or experience relating to the Californian Code, please do so so that we can all share our knowledge.

 Thanks.