CA SB 35

Title: Community Assistance, Recovery, and Empowerment (CARE) Court Program.
Author: Thomas J. Umberg

Summary
SB 35, Umberg. Community Assistance, Recovery, and Empowerment (CARE) Court Program. (1) Existing law, 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 and implement services, to be provided by county behavioral health agencies, to provide behavioral health care, including stabilization medication, housing, and other enumerated services, to adults who are currently experiencing a severe mental illness and have a diagnosis identified in the disorder class schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders, and who meet other specified criteria. Existing law requires all evaluations and reports, documents, and filings submitted to the court under CARE proceedings be kept confidential.This bill would authorize CARE Act proceedings to be conducted by a superior court judge or by a court-appointed commissioner or other subordinate judicial officer. The bill would require that there is no fee for filing a petition nor any fees charged by any public officer for services in filing or serving papers or for the performance of any duty enjoined by the CARE Act. The bill would authorize that the respondent is entitled to have an interpreter in all proceedings if necessary for the respondent’s full participation. This bill would require county behavioral health agencies to provide health information necessary to support findings in the filings to the court, as specified, and would exempt counties and their employees from civil or criminal liability for disclosure under these provisions. By increasing the reporting duties on county behavioral health agencies, this bill would create a state-mandated local program.This bill would authorize health care providers and covered entities, as defined, to disclose specified health information to behavioral health agencies for some purposes and would require those entities to disclose that information for other specified purposes. The bill would authorize a county behavioral health agency to apply, ex parte, for an order requiring health care providers or covered entities to provide information, as specified, to the court, the behavioral health agency, or both. The bill would require behavioral health agencies to notify respondent of disclosure, as specified. The bill would exempt health care providers and covered entities from civil or criminal liability for disclosure under these provisions and would exempt information disclosed to a county behavioral health agency by a provider of health care or a covered entity from disclosure or inspection under the Public Records Act.Existing law authorizes a specified individual to commence the CARE process, known as the original petitioner. Under existing law, if the original petitioner is a person other than the director of a county behavioral health agency, the court is required to issue an order relieving the original petitioner and appointing the director of the county behavioral health agency, or their successor, as the substitute petitioner. Under existing law, the original petitioner retains specified rights, including the right to participate in the initial hearing to determine the merits of the petition.This bill would revise the rights of the original petitioner, including giving them the right to be present and make a statement on the merits of the petition at the initial hearing and authorizing the court to assign ongoing rights to an original petitioner who resides with the respondent or is a spouse, parent, sibling, child, or grandparent or other person who stands in loco parentis to the respondent. This bill would additionally authorize the respondent to petition the court for an order sealing their records, as specified, and the filing of such petition would create a presumption in favor of sealing.Existing law authorizes the court to find a person, other than respondent, who has previously filed a pleading in C

Status
Enrolled and presented to the Governor at 4 p.m.

Bill Documents
CA SB 35 - 09/18/23 - Enrolled
09/18/23 - CA SB 35 (09/18/23 - Enrolled)