CARE Act
The Community Assistance, Recovery, and Empowerment (CARE) Act authorizes specified adult persons to petition a civil court to create a voluntary CARE agreement or a court-ordered CARE plan that can include treatment, housing support, and other services for persons with schizophrenia or other psychotic disorders. The CARE Act creates a new pathway intended to deliver mental health treatment and support services upstream to the most severely impaired Californians who often experience homelessness or incarceration without treatment. This pathway is accessed when a person, called the “petitioner”, requests court-ordered treatment, services, support, and housing resources under the CARE Act prioritized for another person, called the “respondent”. The petitioner must fall under a specific group of people, such as specific family members, housemates, first responders, and behavioral health workers. The respondent must have a diagnosis on the schizophrenia spectrum or other psychotic disorders.
As of December 2024, all courts and counties have implemented the CARE Act.
Who Can Be a Respondent?
To be eligible for CARE Act proceedings, the individual must meet all the following criteria:
- Be 18 years old or older
- Have a diagnosis of schizophrenia spectrum or other psychotic disorder
- Be currently experiencing a mental illness that is severe in degree and persistent in duration, which may cause behavioral functioning which interferes substantially with the primary activities of daily living, and which may result in an inability to maintain stable adjustment and independent functioning without treatment, support, and rehabilitation for a long or indefinite period of time
- Not currently clinically stabilized in an on-going voluntary treatment program
- Meet one of the following:
- The person is unlikely to survive safely in the community without supervision and the person’s condition is substantially deteriorating.
- The person is in need of services and supports in order to prevent a relapse or deterioration that would likely result in grave disability or serious harm to the person or others, as defined in Section 5150.
- CARE would be the least restrictive alternative to ensure the person’s recovery and stability
- Be likely to benefit from participation in CARE
Only 7,000-12,000 Californians are estimated to meet CARE criteria.
This five-minute video walks through the seven eligibility criteria that must be met in order for someone to be eligible for services under the CARE Act.
CARE Act Webinars:
The following webinars are hosted by CFCC and include curated interdisciplinary content related to CARE Act implementation.
CARE Act 101 Webinar: Overview of the Court’s Role in Implementation
The CARE Act 101 webinar provides an overview of the court’s role in implementation and highlights key topics and spotlights areas of greater interest for local courts and justice partners including eligibility criteria, referrals, and the court process. The presentation is approximately 30 minutes.
CARE Act Judicial Process Overview Training for Counsel
This session provides an in-depth overview of the CARE Act judicial process and highlights the eleven new rules and thirteen new forms created by the Judicial Council for counsel, including public defenders, qualified legal services projects, and county counsel.
Effective Communication for Court Users with Psychiatric Disabilities
Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund provides a one-hour training on effective communication and reasonable modifications for court users with psychiatric disabilities, including people with schizophrenia and other thought disorders.
Confidentiality and the CARE Act: A Primer
This session provides and overview of the fundamentals of confidentiality law with regard to adult civil mental health proceedings, with a focus on the CARE Act. The session covers HIPAA the Confidentiality of Medical Information Act (CMIA), the confidentiality provisions of the Lanterman-Petris-Short (LPS) Act and the Comprehensive Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism Prevention, Treatment, and Rehabilitation Act (CAAAPTR), as well as those included within the CARE Act itself.
Laura’s Law / AOT
Assisted Outpatient Treatment, known as Laura’s Law, allows for court-ordered assisted outpatient treatment for defendants with serious mental illness who are unable to survive safely in the community without supervision. Laura’s Law permits counties to utilize courts, probation, and mental health systems to address the needs of individuals who meet certain criteria, including those with a history of repeated hospitalization or incarceration, or a history of violent behavior to self or others. Under Assembly Bill 1976 (Stat. 2020, ch. 140), counties were required to formally opt-in or opt-out of Laura’s Law by July 1, 2021, encouraging new counties to begin implementing court-ordered assisted outpatient treatment.
Due Process in Assisted Outpatient Treatment (“Laura’s Law”): Common Issues and Questions(1:03:37)
Laura’s Law provides court-ordered Assisted Outpatient Treatment for people with a history of violence or repeated hospitalizations and who are unable to participate in mental health treatment programs without supervision. This webinar discusses common due process issues, problem-solving, and county-specific experiences. Topics include adequacy of notice, confidentiality, waiver of rights, and enforcement mechanisms.