Los Angeles County is set to roll out the Community Assistance, Recovery and Empowerment program, known as CARE Court on Friday. The new system is designed to get those with severe mental illness treatment through a court order.
More than 100 petitions have been filed throughout the state in the first two months of the program being implemented in the seven pilot counties. About 15 of them are in San Francisco.
The new system allows for people to petition for those experiencing mental health or substance abuse to undergo court-ordered treatment. Anyone from a family member, first responders, roommates or public health official can file a petition.
The cases are presided over by San Francisco Superior Court Judge Michael Begert, who has been a judge for four different treatment courts.
Begert says the main challenge during implementation has been getting people to show up.
“This isn’t the easiest environment to walk into. Most people would prefer not to see the inside of a courtroom and folks who have mental illness a lot of times have a lot of anxiety associated with being around other people and being in a stressful environment,” Begert said.
When presiding over CARE Court, he has forgone wearing a robe, wanting to establish more of a partnership feeling, as opposed to an adversarial relationship with the people going through the program.
“They know I’m the judge but I’m not going out of my way to assert the fact that I’m representing the state… I do what I can to diffuse any anxiety that they may have,” Begert noted.
The legislation to create CARE Court was signed into law by Gov. Gavin Newsom last year. It is part of his multibillion-dollar investment to help people living on the streets and to overhaul California’s behavioral health system.
The new system allows for people to petition for those experiencing mental health or substance abuse to undergo court-ordered treatment. Anyone from a family member, first responders, roommates or public health official can file a petition.
Although the treatment is court-ordered, CARE Court is not a criminal court. However, if someone doesn’t participate in the program, they could be placed into a conservatorship.
“We’re trying to prevent people from getting to that point. We don’t want people held against their will and forced to take medication,” said Melanie Kushnir, the collaborative Justice Program’s director for the Superior Court of San Francisco.
The implementation of CARE Court was challenged by Disability Rights California and other civil rights organizations in January. The California Supreme Court ruled it would not block the program.
Now, in the beginning stages of the rollout, Begert said more resources need to be invested to help people once they complete their ordered treatment, to prevent people from slipping back into the same cycle.
“We need more supportive housing. These are not folks who can just go into independent housing. They need to have services connected with their housing. We need more treatment beds that are focused on serious mental illness,” Begert said.
Kushnir adds once the program is fully implemented, she sees it helping thousands of Californians who are currently experiencing severe mental health issues.
“It’s going to take a lot of patience to engage and get people involved and get them into a treatment plan, but it’s going to happen. People are going to get well,” she noted.
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