The settlement of Napper v. Sacramento County ensures that some 5,000 adults with significant psychiatric disabilities will continue to receive outpatient services from their current providers. The case was brought by Western Center on Law and Poverty (WCLP), Disability Rights California (DRC), and Cooley LLP in May 2010 after Sacramento County announced its plans to open new clinics staffed by County employees, to replace centers that have been providing these services successfully for 15 years.  The centers are run by nonprofit providers under competitively bid contracts. 
 
In response to this suit, in July 2010 the court stopped the cuts in recognition that the abrupt reduction of services without an adequate plan for transition was likely to endanger the mental health of clients.  In violation of the integration mandate of the Americans with Disabilities Act, these actions would place clients at risk of hospitalization and inpatient placement.  Sacramento County appointed an expert on mental health practices, whose report, issued on May 10, 2011, outlines the value of continuity of care in creating bonds of trust between health care providers and people with experience in managing their mental health conditions to avoid crises. (Read Callahan report here: http://www.sacdhhs.com/cms/download/pdfs/MHA/Independent_Expert_Review_Final_Report--Sacramento_Adult_Mental_Health_Services_05-10-11REV.pdf)
 
As part of the settlement, the County of Sacramento has agreed that no later than December 31, 2012, it will develop a plans for providing a continuum of care throughout its adult outpatient mental health system and  for consolidating the two County outpatient clinics.  In addition, by this date the County must decide whether to revise its adult outpatient mental health system.  It must consider: modifying its intake system to allow existing providers to conduct intakes, increasing use of the Wellness and Recovery model, increasing use of peer staffing/volunteers, increasing collaboration between outpatient and inpatient mental health providers and developing  a 24-hour welcoming line or "warm line" staffed by individuals with lived experience.