Inmates: mental evaluations.

Existing law requires that as a condition of parole, a prisoner who has a severe mental disorder, as defined, shall be required to be treated by the State Department of State Hospitals, and the State Department of State Hospitals shall provide the necessary treatment. Existing law requires that, prior to release on parole, the person in charge of treating the prisoner and a practicing psychiatrist or psychologist from the State Department of State Hospitals have evaluated the prisoner at a facility of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. This bill would require the evaluation to be a face-to-face evaluation. Existing law requires that whenever the Secretary of the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation determines that an individual who is in custody under the jurisdiction of the department, and who is either serving a determinate prison sentence or whose parole has been revoked, may be a sexually violent predator, the secretary shall, at least 6 months prior to that individual's scheduled date for release from prison, refer the person for evaluation to the State Department of State Hospitals. Existing law requires the State Department of State Hospitals to evaluate the person in accordance with a standardized assessment protocol, developed and updated by that department, to determine whether the person is a sexually violent predator. This bill would require the evaluation to be a face-to-face evaluation. The bill would make additional technical changes.