SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

FOR THE COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES

JUVENILE DEPENDENCY DIVISION

TO ALL PARTIES AND THEIR ATTORNEYS OF RECORD:

PLEASE TAKE NOTICE that on , 1999 at a.m./p.m., or as soon thereafter, in Department _________, Superior Court of the State of California, located at 201 Centre Plaza Dr., #3, Monterey Park, CA 91754, the Minor will move the Court pursuant to Welf. & Inst. Code §§ 362(a), 5694.7, and 319.1 for an order joining the Los Angeles Department of Mental Health and the ______________________________ School District as parties to these proceedings and directing them to comply with their obligations to provide mental health assessment and treatment services and special education related services to the Minor, including residential care and home and community based mental health services.

Dated: Respectfully Submitted,

Attorney for Minor

FOR THE COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES

JUVENILE DEPENDENCY DIVISION

The requested order requires two agencies -- the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health (LAC DMH) and the _________ School District -- to appear before this Court and to carry out their duties to the minor. Because the minor is eligible for Medi-Cal services and under age 21, s/he is eligible for intensive mental health services to be provided by LAC DMH, which also has a special duty to assess the child’s needs when requested to do so by the Juvenile Court pursuant to Welf. & Inst. Code § 5694.7. In addition, the child has special education rights to mental health services, including residential placement, to be provided by the school district and/or LAC DMH under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) 20 U.S.C. § 1412 et. seq. The two agencies have been unclear about their respective duties to provide these services.

The juvenile court has broad authority under Welf. & Inst. Code § 362(a) to "join in the juvenile court proceedings any agency that the court determines has failed to meet a legal obligation to provide services to the minor." This authority extends to the agencies at issue here, as the legislative history of Section 362 makes clear. One legislative committee noted that the amendment addresses the needs of the most difficult to serve population of dependent children and wards of the court -- children with multiple service needs [who are] legally entitled to services from several public agencies. The fact that multiple agencies are involved often results in a failure to provide legally mandated services: the buck gets passed from agency to agency without the child getting any services. Senate Committee Report on Judiciary Bill No. AB 3553 (June 23, 1992). Another committee analysis specifically named the agencies typically involved as "the Department of Education, Department of Mental Health, Department of Health Services, Department of Rehabilitation, and Regional Centers." Assembly Committee Analysis of Judiciary Bill No. AB 3553 (April 8, 1992).

Here, the two agencies involved in providing mental health services are unclear about their respective duties to the dependent child. Without a joinder order under Welf. & Inst. Code § 362(a), there is a real danger that "the buck [will] get[] passed from agency to agency without the child getting any services." Id. With both agencies present, this court need only order them jointly to deliver the needed services, leaving it to the agencies themselves to sort out specific responsibilities.

&#Under Welf. & Inst. Code § 5694.7, when requested to do so by the juvenile court, the county mental health director must... assess whether or not the child is seriously emotionally disturbed as well as to determine the level of involvement in the case needed to assure access to appropriate mental health treatment services and whether appropriate treatment is available . . . through another agency, and to ensure access to services available within the county’s program. Welf. & Inst. Code § 5694.7 (emphasis added). This statute imposes a duty on LAC DMH to assess a child’s needs for mental health services even if these services are not provided by the county. Accordingly, the county has an obligation to develop a treatment plan which addresses all the child’s needs, including needs for mental health services from the school district or from other programs or agencies.

Finally as noted below, for children such as the dependent here, LAC DMH also has a duty to provide mental health services in conjunction with the child’s special education rights, pursuant to Assembly Bill (AB) 3632/882 as amended by AB 2726 and codified as Cal. Gov. Code §§ 7570-7588 (hereinafter, "AB3632").

Children who are seriously emotionally disturbed ("SED") have a right to special education "related services" including psychological counselling for the child and/or family if necessary to benefit from the child’s education or residential placement in a non-public school setting. AB3632. If in the course of developing a child’s Individual Educational Plan (IEP) the child is identified as SED, a referral must be made to the county mental health department for an assessment and provision of mental health related services, including residential services.

More generally, the education rights of children with disabilities are governed by the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) 20 U.S.C. § 1412 et. seq. The 1997 amendments to IDEA clarified that local school districts are ultimately responsible for services needed by pupils even when another public agency other than the educational agency is otherwise obligated to provide or pay for services that are considered special education related services. If that other agency fails to provide or pay for these services, the local school district must fulfill the obligation either directly or through contract or through some other arrangement. 20 U.S.C. 1412(a)(12)(B)(i) & (ii). Consequently, if mental health and/or residential services are necessary for a child to benefit from his education, the school district must provide the services if there is a delay in providing related mental health services from county mental health through the AB 3632 process and while waiting for AB 3632 services to begin.¹

It is a violation of federal law to require that a child be made a ward or dependent of the court in order to obtain residential care needed to benefit from educational services, since this will involve a cost to the parent. Federal law provides that "[i]f placement in a public or private residential program is necessary to provide special education and related services to a handicapped child, the program, including non-medical care and room and board, must be at no cost to the parents of the child." 34 C.F.R. § 300.302.

In Christopher T. v. San Francisco United School District, 553 F.Supp. 1107 (U.S.D.C., N.D.Cal. 1982), the federal court ruled that the school district was financially responsible for the costs of residential placement for two children who were made dependents of the Juvenile Court and placed by the Department of Social Services. Id. At 1119-20. The court found that the school district failed to provide adequate mental health services in the children’s Individual Education Plan, particularly the residential placement which the children needed.

Dated: ___________________ Respectfully Submitted

_____________________________

Attorney for Minor

SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF CALIFORNIA

FOR THE COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES

JUVENILE DEPENDENCY DIVISION

ORDER

This court finds that the minor, ________________________ is a person described by Welf. & Inst. Code § 300 and that the minor may need specialized mental health treatment and special education services while the minor is unable to reside in her/his natural home.

THE COURT HEREBY ORDERS the joinder of the Director of the Los Angeles County Department of Mental Health (LAC DMH) and the ______ School District as parties to this proceeding pursuant to Welf. & Inst. Code §§ 362(a) and 5694.7.

THE COURT FURTHER ORDERS as follows:

1. Pursuant to Welf. & Inst. Code § 5694.7, the Director of LAC DMH shall assess the minor’s need for mental services including those available through Medi-Cal and under the state and federal special educational laws and shall develop a treatment plan which includes these services where clinically appropriate; and shall report back to this Court within 30 days on the progress made in complying with the order set forth herein.

2. Pursuant to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA), 20 U.S.C. § 1412 et. seq. and Assembly Bill (AB) 3632/882 as amended by AB 2726 and codified as Cal. Gov. Code §§ 7570-7588, the _____School District shall determine which related services, including mental

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health services and residential care, are necessary for the minor to benefit from education services and to provide these services or assure that they are provided by LAC DMH.

Date:_______________________

_____________________________________

The Honorable ________________________

Judge/Commissioner/Referee

Los Angeles Superior Court