The Los Angeles County Mental Health Commission consists of Sixteen Members. By law, one member of the Commission must be a member of the Board of Supervisors. Section 5604 W.I.C. sets very specific membership requirements. Fifty percent of the Commission membership shall be consumers or the parents, spouse, sibling, or adult children of consumers, who are receiving or have received mental health services. Consumers constitute at least 20% of the total membership. Families of consumers constitute at least 20% of the membership.

The law also establishes special requirements on ethnic diversity and conflict of interest. Commission membership should reflect the ethnic diversity of the client population in the county and the demographics of the county as a whole, to the extent feasible.

The special requirement in relation to conflict of interest is that “No member of the Commission or his or her spouse shall be a full-time or part-time county employee of a county mental health service, an employee of the State Department of Mental Health, or an employee of, or a paid member of the governing body of a Bronzen-McCorquodale contract agency.”

If you are interested in becoming a member of the Mental Health Commission, contact your representative on the Board of Supervisors.