Public Safety

San Diego To Consider Laura's Law

By Alison St John / Reporter

Published March 20, 2013 at 7:18 AM PDT

This story was published more than 11 years ago.

San Diego County Supervisors are considering whether to adopt a state law that allows court-ordered treatment for mentally ill patients who refuse to take medication.

San Diego To Consider Laura’s Law

San Diego County is considering whether to adopt Laura's Law, a state law that allows court-ordered treatment for mentally ill patients who refuse to take medication.

Laura’s Law has been cited as a way to help prevent tragedies like the shootings at Sandy Hook Elementary in Connecticut.

Supervisors Dianne Jacob and Dave Roberts initiated a staff review of the law.

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Implementing Laura’s Law would make it possible to mandate outpatient treatment for patients who refused it. San Diego currently has an in-home treatment program called IHOT, which is voluntary.

Roberts said 19 family members, including one of his neighbors, testified before the board about the difficulties they face with loved ones who are mentally ill but refuse treatment.

“Right now if they are not in the IHOT demonstration program,” he said. “They have to go to the criminal justice system to get their loved ones into protection, and that’s not a good choice either. So where is the balance?"

Supervisors may ask the state to modify Laura’s Law before adopting it in San Diego.

In the past, San Diego County has chosen not to implement Laura’s Law, partly to preserve patients’ rights and partly to save money. But Roberts said county staff will look at whether implementing the law could actually save money in the long run.

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The supervisors will consider staff findings in 90 days before voting on whether to adopt the law.

Public Safety

Alison St John

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Alison St John currently serves as a general assignment reporter and occasionally co-hosts KPBS Midday Edition. She fell in love with KPBS Radio when she arrived in San Diego in 1985 and first heard NPR. She has been a voice on KPBS Radio since 1989, and has served as a news reporter for radio, TV and the web, as well as anchoring, hosting, producing and editing. Alison has reported on stories about North County and was based in the KPBS' North County Bureau. Alison covered the metro beat during the critical period of the San Diego City pension crisis, and the education beat while Alan Bersin was the controversial Superintendent of San Diego City School District. She covered health when the industry was converting to managed care and told welfare reform stories in the late 1990s when Clinton was “ending welfare as we know it.” She has covered land use issues extensively, looking at the challenges of meeting a growing population while preserving community character, and developing a better transportation system to meet environmental concerns. She has done many stories on the military in San Diego, and the series she edited on the challenges veterans face returning from active duty to civilian life won “Best of Show” from the San Diego Society of Professional Journalists. She occasionally hosts the KPBS Roundtable and KPBS Midday Edition. Alison has won awards from the San Diego Press Club, the Society of Professional Journalists, the Associated Press TV and Radio Association, and the California Golden Mike Awards. Alison was born in Tanzania, brought up in Scotland, and earned her degree in psychology and sociology from Durham University in England. Her postgraduate diploma is in student counseling. She worked in England, Nigeria, Switzerland, Belgium, India, and Japan before moving to the United States in 1981. She now lives in Oceanside and enjoys how her community is growing and changing.