WHAT IS PATIENTS' RIGHTS ADVOCACY? Advocacy is the process of promoting and representing patients' rights and interests through direct assistance, monitoring, training, and policy review. California has a legislatively mandated Patients' Rights Advocacy system made up of three components: (1) Office of Patients' Rights, (2) State Hospital Patients' Rights Advocate's, (3) County Patients Rights Advocates. WHO ARE THE PATIENTS' RIGHTS ADVOCATES? The Patients' Rights Advocate (PRA) in the state hospitals are employees of Protection and Advocacy, Inc., Office of Patients' Rights, who is contracted by the Department of Mental Health to ensure that the Treatment and Legal rights of persons receiving mental health treatment are maintained. Protection and Advocacy, Inc., (PAI) is a nonprofit agency that works in partnership with people with disabilities to protect, advocate for and advance their human, legal, and service rights. PAI began protecting the rights of Californians with disabilities in 1978. Under the contract with California's Department of Mental Health, PAI operates the Office of Patients' Rights (OPR), to provide support to patients' rights advocates in the counties and employs a Patients' Rights Advocate at each State Hospital to directly advocate for the rights of people with psychiatric disabilities. The legislative mandated duties of the Patients' Rights Advocate are: · To investigate and resolve complaints received from patients about violations or abuse of their rights, and/or to cause the investigation of such complaints. · To act as an advocate for patients who are unable or afraid to file a complaint. · To monitor facilities for compliance with patients' rights, laws, regulations, and policies. · To train staff in the areas regarding patients' rights, laws, regulations, and policies. · To assist staff in ensuring that all patients are notified of their rights, including the right to contact the Advocate and the California Office of Patients' Rights. · To act as a consultant to mental health professionals in the area of patients' rights. · To act as a liaison between the facility's advocacy program and the California Office of Patients' Rights. BEST INTEREST VS. EXPRESSED INTEREST! Advocates represent the patients' interests as defined by the patient (expressed interest), so long as those interests are within the bounds of the law and achievable within the advocates' resources. Advocates do not determine what is most "appropriate" for a patient or what is in the patient's "best interests." Rather, the Advocate will counsel patients about their options and the implications of those options and assist patients to make an informed choice. The Patients' Rights Advocate will then advocate for the "expressed interest" of the patient. This perspective is different from the traditional clinical "best interest" approach frequently used by treatment staff.