Senator Aisha Wahab’s Youth Bill of Rights Legislation Signed into Law

Sacramento, CA — Senator Aisha Wahab’s (D-Silicon Valley) Youth Bill of Rights legislation (SB 1353)—which adds the right to receive behavioral health services to the existing types of healthcare that a detained or incarcerated youth has the right to receive—was signed into law.

“To rehabilitate youth and prevent recidivism, we must ensure behavioral health is accounted for alongside mental health,” said Senator Wahab, Chair of the Senate Committee on Public Safety. “Often times, their incarceration is the first time these youth learn they have a treatable behavior disorder that—untreated—contributed to their incarceration.”

SB 1353 builds on the existing Youth Bill of Rights to ensure behavioral health services, which are included in Title 15 regulations, are accounted for in statute. It received bipartisan support in the Senate and Assembly.