Cal. Welfare and Institutions Code § 5670.5

Criteria for community residential treatment system programs are as follows: (a) Facilities: (1) Settings, whether residential or day, should be as close to a normal home environment as possible without sacrificing client safety or care. (2) Residential treatment centers should be relatively small, preferably 15 beds or less, but in any case with the appearance of a noninstitutional setting. (3) The individual elements of the system should, where possible, be in separate facilities, and not part of one large facility attempting to serve an entire range of clients. (b) Staffing patterns: (1) Staffing patterns should reflect, to the maximum extent feasible, at all levels, the cultural, linguistic, ethnic, sexual and other social characteristics of the community the facility serves. (2) The programs should be designed to use appropriate multidisciplinary professional consultation and staff to meet the specific diagnostic and treatment needs of the clients. (3) The programs should use paraprofessionals and persons who have been consumers of mental health services where appropriate. (c) Programs: (1) The programs should, to the maximum extent feasible, be designed so as to reduce the dependence on medications as a sole treatment tool. Programs in which prescriptions for medication are a component of the program should be subject to the medications-monitoring. (2) The programs should have a rehabilitation focus which encourages the client to develop the skills to become self-sufficient and capable of increasing levels of independent functioning. Where appropriate, they should include prevocational and vocational programs. (3) The program should encourage the participation of the clients in the daily operation of the setting in development of treatment and rehabilitation planning and evaluation. (4) Participation in any element of the system should not preclude the involvement of clients in individual therapy. Individual therapists of clients should, where possible, be directly involved in the development and implementation of a treatment plan, including medication and day program decisions. (d) Coordination: The programs should demonstrate specific linkages with one another, and with the general treatment and social service system, as a whole. These connections should not be limited to the mental health system, but should include, whenever possible, community resources utilized by the general population.