THE BUZZ!
At new mental health courts in California, judges will be able to mandate treatment
First up
A new kind of court is coming to California, not for criminals, but for people with severe mental illness. It’s called the CARE Courts program.
Family members and first responders can ask a judge to order people into treatment, even if they are not homeless or have not committed a crime.
The judge will decide if someone qualifies for the program and may create a care plan or order treatment. This could include involuntary commitment.
Patient advocates object to the idea, saying it violates civil rights.
The presiding judge for Orange County Superior Court says they don’t want to punish people, but want them to maintain their dignity. The new court will be modeled after the county’s other collaborative courts, where judges often lose the black robe and come down off the bench to work with people, eye to eye.
California’s new civil CARE Courts will start in eight counties this fall, and the rest of the state in 2024.
