As described below, this bill alters the duty that certain mental health professionals have to warn or take precautions to protect certain victims from a service recipient's violent behavior.
DUTY TO WARN OR TAKE PRECAUTIONS
Present law requires a professional to take reasonable care to predict, warn of, or take precautions to protect the identified victim from the service recipient's violent behavior if, and only if, the following circumstances exist:
(1) The service recipient has communicated to a qualified mental health professional or behavior analyst an actual threat of bodily harm against a clearly identified victim; and
(2) The professional, using the reasonable skill, knowledge, and care ordinarily possessed and exercised by the professional's specialty under similar circumstances, has determined or reasonably should have determined that the service recipient has the apparent ability to commit such an act and is likely to carry out the threat unless prevented from doing so.
This bill amends (1) above to provide, instead, the following:
(1) The service recipient (i) has communicated to a qualified mental health professional or behavior analyst an actual threat of bodily or physical harm against a clearly identified victim, including a category of victims or a specific geographic target or (ii) has communicated to a qualified mental health professional or behavior analyst to a reasonable degree of certainty, a probable threat of bodily or physical harm against a clearly identified victim, including a category of victims or a specific geographic target.
This bill amends the duty imposed to provide, instead, that the professional or analyst must take reasonable care to predict, warn of, or take precautions to protect the clearly identified victim, including any category of victims or specific geographic targets, from the service recipient's planned or potential violent behavior.
DISCHARGE OF DUTY
Present law provides that the duty, as described above, may be discharged by the professional or service provider by doing the following:
(1) Informing the clearly identified victim of the threat;
(2) Having the service recipient admitted on a voluntary basis to a hospital;
(3) Taking steps to seek admission of the service recipient to a hospital or treatment resource on an involuntary basis; or
(4) Pursuing a course of action consistent with current professional standards that will discharge the duty.
This bill adds that the professional or provider may also discharge the duty by informing the applicable law enforcement agency, as described below.
REPORTING TO LOCAL LAW ENFORCEMENT
Present law provides that, if a service recipient has communicated to a qualified mental health professional or behavior analyst an actual threat of serious bodily harm or death against a reasonably identifiable victim or victims, then the qualified mental health professional or behavior analyst, using the reasonable skill, knowledge, and care ordinarily possessed and exercised by the professional's specialty under similar circumstances, who has determined or reasonably should have determined that the service recipient has the apparent ability to commit such an act and is likely to carry out the threat unless prevented from doing so, must immediately report the service recipient to local law enforcement, who shall take appropriate action based upon the information reported. This bill also requires reporting if there is communicated, to a reasonable degree of certainty, a probable threat of serious bodily or physical harm or death against a reasonably identifiable victim, category of victims, or geographic target.
Present law requires the professional or analyst to report certain information in situations as described above. This bill adds to the present list of information the following:
(1) The names or identities of any reasonably identifiable potential victims, categories of victims, or geographic targets to the extent such information was communicated by the service recipient or reasonably inferable from the communications of the service recipient; and
(2) A detailed statement of the service recipient's communications or actions which warrant reporting under this section.
CONFIDENTIALITY PROTECTION
This bill clarifies that information provided pursuant to the above provisions, the confidentiality of which is protected by other statutes or regulations, is declared protected by this bill.

Statutes affected:
Introduced: 33-3-206, 33-3-207, 33-3-210