(b) The Legislature finds and declares that the purpose of this section is to establish a program for the department to perform reevaluations primarily through telehealth evaluations for felony incompetent to stand trial (IST) individuals in jail who have been waiting for admission to the department. The goals of this program are:

1. (1) To permit the department to conduct reevaluations of IST defendants committed to the department and awaiting admission to department facilities.
2. (2) To reduce the growing list of IST defendants awaiting placement to a department facility for competency restoration treatment.
3. (3) To help address the significant impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on the IST waitlist through identification of individuals on the waitlist who have restored to competency in jail, are nonrestorable, are malingering, may be divertible, or have stabilized and are appropriate for outpatient treatment.
4. (4) To reduce the timeframe for a competency evaluation for IST defendants in jail and reduce unnecessary costly hospitalizations.
5. (5) To offer expert forensic mental health consultation to assist in identifying ISTs who may be appropriate for community placement. This supports the principles of deinstitutionalization for individuals who can best be supported in the least restrictive setting in the community.
6. (6) To offer expert medication consultation and technical assistance to local sheriffs to support effective use of psychotropic medications and stabilization of IST defendants awaiting placement to a department facility.
7. (7) To require courts and local county jails to provide to the department all relevant medical, behavioral, and court records of IST defendants committed to the department for evaluation purposes.
8. (8) To require local county jails to provide the department access to IST defendants in county jails and for local county jails to ensure the department the ability to provide reevaluations for IST defendants remotely.
9. (9) To require local county jails to allow the department access to necessary IST defendants’ information, including records and collateral information.

(d) Reevaluations provided by the department clinician or contracted clinician shall include, but are not limited to, the following:

1. (1) Evaluations, including assessment of malingering, pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) of Section 1370 of the Penal Code, subdivision (b) of Section 1370.01 of the Penal Code, or paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 1372 of the Penal Code.
2. (2) Assessments to determine whether the IST defendant should be referred to the county for further evaluation for potential participation in the county diversion program, if one exists, pursuant to clause (v) of subparagraph (B) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) of Section 1370 of the Penal Code or paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section 1370.01 of the Penal Code, or other outpatient treatment program.
3. (3) Evaluations on whether the IST defendant is substantially unlikely to be restored to competence in the foreseeable future pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (b) of Section 1370 of the Penal Code or subdivision (b) of Section 1370.01 of the Penal Code. Evaluations shall include, if applicable, facts supporting that a defendant appears gravely disabled as described in subparagraph (A) of paragraph (1) of subdivision (h) of Section 5008, which a court may utilize to order a conservatorship investigator to initiate conservatorship proceedings pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (c) of Section 1370 of the Penal Code.
4. (4) Psychopharmacology evaluations in which a department clinician will identify IST defendants who may need psychotropic medications, a psychopharmacology consultation, or an involuntary medication order.
5. (5) A written report from the department clinician or contracted clinician of their evaluations of the IST defendant, as well as any conclusions of mental health status and recommendations the clinician may have of placement of the IST defendant.