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November 7, 2023 – Disability Rights California (DRC), the County of Alameda, California, and the United States Department of Justice have entered into a comprehensive settlement agreement addressing the provision of community-based behavioral health services in the County. The settlement strengthens and expands services available to people with serious mental health disabilities with the goal of preventing unnecessary psychiatric institutionalization and incarceration. 

The settlement agreement is the result of over two years of negotiations between the County, the U.S. Department of Justice, and DRC, as well as its co-counsel, Goldstein, Borgen, Dardarian & Ho, the Bazelon Center for Mental Health Law, Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund, and the Law Office of Aaron J. Fischer. The parties identified mutually desirable commitments to community-based behavioral health services. The County is seeking to further improve and deepen community-based services in an effort to best serve the residents of the County of Alameda. Read the press release. Additional details of the final settlement agreement.