Community Assistance, Recovery, and Empowerment (CARE) Court Program and court-ordered evaluations.
Vote required
Majority
Fiscal committee
No
Appropriation
No
Current location
Appropriations
Take action
Record your position on this measure.
Create an account to record your position, submit testimony, or contact your legislator.
Progress
Where this bill stands in the legislative process.
- Introduced
- Passed Senate
- Passed Assembly
- To Governor
- Became Law
Overview
This bill establishes the Community Assistance, Recovery, and Empowerment (CARE) Court program in California, designed to provide coordinated behavioral health care to adults with severe mental illness who meet specific criteria. The program involves a court-ordered process, potentially including a mental health evaluation, to create a voluntary CARE agreement or plan. The bill aims to improve access to services and supports for this population by streamlining the process and ensuring appropriate levels of care are provided, including the potential for court-ordered evaluations and increased county responsibilities.
Key provisions
- Authorizes a CARE Act petition to request a court-ordered mental health evaluation under the Lanterman-Petris-Short Act (LPS Act) if the respondent may not participate in the CARE process.
- Requires the Judicial Council to include a request for a mental health evaluation on the CARE Act petition form.
- Allows the court to order a mental health evaluation if the CARE petition or county report establishes probable cause for the evaluation.
- Mandates that the court report to the respondent’s family and supporters about the evaluation.
- Requires the court to consider whether the respondent needs a higher level of care than available under the CARE Act and recommend appropriate services.
- Requires the court to dismiss a CARE petition if the respondent needs a higher level of care and orders the county to conduct a prepetition screening.
- Requires the court to allow remote hearings unless otherwise ordered.
Bill text
Read the latest version inline or switch to a previous version.
Text extraction is in progress. View the official source.
Sponsors
Official sponsors from legislative records.
5 on record
Primary sponsor
Arguments
Reasons offered for and against this legislation.
Arguments in favor
No arguments in favor have been submitted.
Submit yoursArguments opposed
No arguments opposed have been submitted.
Submit yours