Section 11812 Of Article 4. County Alcohol And Other Drug Program From California Health And Safety Code >> Division 10.5. >> Part 2. >> Chapter 4. >> Article 4.
11812
. The following conditions apply to county expenditures of
funds pursuant to this part:
(a) Where the services specified in the contract for alcohol and
other drug abuse services are provided pursuant to other general
health or social programs, only that portion of the services dealing
with alcohol and other drug problems may be financed under this part.
(b) (1) Each county shall utilize available privately operated
alcohol and other drug programs and services in the county prior to
utilizing new county-operated programs and services, or city-operated
programs and services pursuant to Section 11796.1, when the
available privately operated programs and services are as favorable
in quality and cost as are those operated by the county or city. When
these privately operated programs and services are not available,
the county shall make a reasonable effort to encourage the
development of privately operated programs and services prior to
developing county-operated or city-operated programs and services.
(2) The county alcohol and drug program administrator shall
demonstrate to the board of supervisors, and to the department, prior
to development of any new program or service, that reasonable
efforts have been made to comply with paragraph (1). All available
local public or private programs and services, as described in
paragraph (1), that are appropriate shall be utilized prior to using
services provided by hospitals.
(c) All personal information and records obtained by the county,
any program that has a contract with the county, or the department
pursuant to this section are confidential and may be disclosed only
in those instances designated in Section 5328 of the Welfare and
Institutions Code.
(1) Any person may bring an action against an individual who has
willingly and knowingly released confidential information or records
concerning that person in violation of this section, for the greater
of the following amounts:
(A) Five hundred dollars ($500).
(B) Three times the amount of actual damages, if any, sustained by
the plaintiff.
(2) (A) Any person may, in accordance with Chapter 3 (commencing
with Section 525) of Title 7 of Part 2 of the Code of Civil
Procedure, bring an action to enjoin the release of confidential
information or records in violation of this chapter, and may in the
same action seek damages as provided in this section.
(B) It is not a prerequisite to an action under this section that
the plaintiff suffer or be threatened with actual damages.
(d) The department may require that each county and any public or
private provider of alcohol and other drug services that receives any
funds under this part provide any information requested by the
department relating to any application for or receipt of federal or
other nonstate funds, including fees, donations, grants, and other
revenues, for alcohol and other drug abuse services provided by these
agencies.