Tulare County Mental Health
Memo
To:
All Case Workers
From:
Case Manager Soto, J. cc: Case Management, Social Workers, Mental Helpers
Date:
Re:
California Supreme Court Decision, Tarasoff v Regents of the University of California
Going forward from this date, All workers engaged with a client that displays any type of hostility or aggression toward any individuals both real and imagined, will refer the case for review to their immediate supervisor. California Supreme Courts have ruled that not only do workers have the charge of protecting patients but also individuals being threatened by those patients. Understanding that Tulare County Mental Health has already had a long standing practice of this, know now that it is legal policy from this day forth. Not only are you morally obligated to report and protect society from threatening individuals, you are now legally obligated as well. So, what does this mean to you as an individual worker? In the past we would recommend to you, the worker, to get in touch with local Law Enforcement when you had an individual that you deemed “dangerous”. Now, you will refer the case to you supervisor who will discuss with a newly formed Security Threat Management Team (stmt) which decides the appropriate steps to take. The STMT will take any and all appropriate steps and inform you, the worker, of any steps needed if any on your part. The STMT and all Case Management Supervisors will be obtaining newly formed training classes to deal
