Joe Simitian Became a Mental Health Champion

Blog, Teens & TAY

Joe Simitian grew up with the notion that if “you are not part of the solution, you are part of the problem.”

For the more than 40 years he served in government, he has lived by that tenet, whether it was as councilman in Palo Alto, California State senator or assemblyman, or Santa Clara County supervisor. During his 12 years as a county supervisor, he took that mantra and applied it to the mental health sector where he was chair of the Health and Hospital Committee.

A.B. 1976 Assisted Outpatient Treatment (AOT) Community Feedback

Events

In September 2020 Governor Newsom Signed AB 1976 into law. AB 1976 updates Laura’s law, Assisted Outpatient Treatment (AOT), one of the provisions of this update is a new rule that counties have to implement AOT unless the county chooses to opt-out By May 1st, 2021. The changes were discussed at the Santa Clara County Health and Hospital Committee. The Behavioral Health Services Department presented a report on February 17 describing the various programs currently run by the department. They indicated that they expect to send a report in April to the Board of Supervisors, recommending that Santa Clara County opt-out of the program.