(a) For any minor described in Section 711 who is determined by the court under Section 712 to be seriously emotionally disturbed, have a serious mental disorder, or have a developmental disability, and who is adjudicated a ward of the court under Section 602, the dispositional procedures set forth in this section shall apply.

(b) Prior to the preparation of the social study required under Section 706, 706.5, or 706.6, the minor shall be referred to a multidisciplinary team for dispositional review and recommendation. The multidisciplinary team shall consist of qualified persons who are collectively able to evaluate the minor’s full range of treatment needs and may include representatives from local probation, mental health, regional centers, regional resource development projects, child welfare, education, community-based youth services, and other agencies or service providers. The multidisciplinary team shall include at least one licensed mental health professional as described in subdivision (a) of Section 712. If the minor has been determined to have both a mental disorder and a developmental disorder, the multidisciplinary team may include both an appropriate mental health agency and a regional center.

(c) The multidisciplinary team shall review the nature and circumstances of the case, including the minor’s family circumstances, as well as the minor’s relevant tests, evaluations, records, medical and psychiatric history, and any existing individual education plan or individual program plans. The multidisciplinary team shall provide for the involvement of the minor’s available parent, guardian, or primary caretaker in its review, including any direct participation in multidisciplinary team proceedings as may be helpful or appropriate for development of a treatment plan in the case. The team shall identify the mental health or other treatment services, including in-home and community-based services that are available and appropriate for the minor, including services that may be available to the minor under federal and state programs and initiatives, such as wraparound service programs. At the conclusion of its review, the team shall then produce a recommended disposition and written treatment plan for the minor, to be appended to, or incorporated into, the probation social study presented to the court.

(d) The court shall review the treatment plan and the dispositional recommendations prepared by the multidisciplinary team and shall take them into account when making the dispositional order in the case. The dispositional order in the case shall be consistent with the protection of the public and the primary treatment needs of the minor as identified in the report of the multidisciplinary team. The minor’s disposition order shall incorporate, to the extent feasible, the treatment plan submitted by the multidisciplinary team, with any adjustments deemed appropriate by the court.

(e) The dispositional order in the case shall authorize placement of the minor in the least restrictive setting that is consistent with the protection of the public and the minor’s treatment needs, and with the treatment plan approved by the court. The court shall, in making the dispositional order, give preferential consideration to the return of the minor to the home of his or her family, guardian, or responsible relative with appropriate in-home, outpatient, or wraparound services, unless that action would be, in the reasonable judgment of the court, inconsistent with the need to protect the public or the minor, or with the minor’s treatment needs.

(f) Whenever a minor is recommended for placement at a state developmental center, the regional center director or designee shall submit a report to the Director of the Department of Developmental Services or his or her designee. The regional center report shall include the assessments, individual program plan, and a statement describing the necessity for a developmental center placement. The Director of Developmental Services or his or her designee may, within 60 days of receiving the regional center report, submit to the court a written report evaluating the ability of an alternative community option or a developmental center to achieve the purposes of treatment for the minor and whether a developmental center placement can adequately provide the security measures or systems required to protect the public health and safety from the potential dangers posed by the minor’s known behaviors.

(Added by Stats. 2005, Ch. 265, Sec. 6. Effective January 1, 2006.)