It’s been several weeks since two of California’s most populous counties launched a new program aimed at getting more people living with serious mental illness into treatment.
Known as CARE Court, the new program allows family members, behavioral health workers, first responders and others to petition a court to step in with a voluntary care plan for someone living with serious mental illness, like schizophrenia.
Gov. Gavin Newsom and other state leaders have billed CARE Court as a way to get people the lifesaving treatment they need and as one tool for addressing California’s homelessness crisis.
Still, several groups including Disability Rights California and the American Civil Liberties Union have raised concerns that the program may be too coercive and could strip people of their rights to make their own decisions.
So how are things going?
L.A. County
Los Angeles County launched its CARE Court on Dec. 1. The Department of Mental Health reported that a total of 28 petitions were filed that month. A department spokesperson said the number of petitions filed in January is expected to increase significantly as authorities continue outreach after the holiday break.
So far, none of the petitions filed have reached the formal care agreement stage yet, which could take six weeks or more.
“DMH remains committed to providing all individuals entering through this process with services, even if they do not meet the eligibility for CARE or if their petitions have been dismissed,” H. Chung So, a spokesperson for the department, wrote in an email to LAist.
Judge Samantha Jessner, presiding judge of the Los Angeles County Superior Court, said all of the petitions filed in the county so far have come from family members of the person named in the documents.
That…
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