About the CARE Act

To file a CARE Act petition, a petitioner must be an adult person who falls into at least one of the following categories: 

• Live with the respondent.
• Be a spouse or registered domestic partner, parent, sibling, child, or grandparent of the respondent.
• Be a person who stands in the place of a parent to the respondent.
• The director of a hospital in which the respondent is hospitalized.
• The director of a charitable agency who has within the last 30 days provided or is currently providing behavioral health services to the respondent or in whose institution the respondent resides.
• A licensed behavioral health professional who is or has supervised the treatment of the respondent for mental illness within the last 30 days.
• A first responder who has had repeated interactions with the respondent.
• The public guardian or public conservator of the county where the respondent is, or a private mental health conservator of the respondent.
• The director of a county behavioral health agency or the adult protective services agency of the county where the respondent resides or is found.
• A judge of a tribal court located in California or director of a California Indian health services program or behavioral health department.
• The respondent.

For a CARE Act petition to be considered by a court, the respondent must meet all the eligibility criteria. Homelessness and a diagnosis alone are not enough to meet eligibility requirements. A respondent must meet all following criteria to be eligible for the CARE Act:

• Be 18 years old or older.
• Have a diagnosis of schizophrenia spectrum disorder or other psychotic disorder in the same class.
• Be currently experiencing a mental illness that:
  • is severe in degree and persistent in duration,
  • may cause behavior that interferes substantially with activities of daily living, and
  • may lead to an inability to maintain stable adjustment and independent functioning without treatment, support, and rehabilitation for a long or indefinite period.
• Not be clinically stabilized in ongoing voluntary treatment.
• At least one of the following must be true:
  • the respondent is unlikely to survive safely in the community without supervision and the respondent's condition is substantially deteriorating, or
  • the respondent needs services and support to prevent a relapse or deterioration that would likely result in grave disability or serious harm to the respondent or others.
• The respondent's participation in a CARE plan or CARE agreement must:
  • be the least restrictive alternative necessary to ensure the respondent's recovery and stability, and
  • be likely to benefit the respondent.