Welfare and Institutions Code section 4240

The Legislature finds and declares all of the following:

(a)

The symptoms and behaviors of persons with a serious mental health disorder may cause severe disruption of normal family relationships.

(b)

Families are often the principal caregivers, housing providers, and case managers for family members with a serious mental health disorder.

(c)

Families of persons with a serious mental health disorder more often than not have little or no legal authority over their adult family members with a mental health disorder who are sometimes difficult to manage. Consequently, they need advice, skills, emotional support, and guidance to cope with the stress of caregiving in order to be effective and helpful.

(d)

Involved families are of inestimable value to the publicly funded and professionally operated state and county mental health system and programs emphasizing self-help can be the best way to assist families in maintaining the cohesion of family life while caring for and assisting a family member with a mental health disorder.

(e)

Since the state’s mental health resources are limited and are increasingly being directed on a priority basis toward provision of services to persons with a serious mental health disorder, informed and active families helping one another can effectively extend and amplify the value of state mental health dollars.