On Dec. 1, Merced County Behavioral Health and Recovery Services will launch a new pathway to deliver mental health and substance use disorder services to the most severely impaired Californians who too often suffer from homelessness or incarceration without treatment.
The CARE Act moves care and support upstream, providing the most vulnerable Californians access to critical behavioral health services, housing and support. CARE stands for Community Assistance, Recovery and Empowerment Act.
This is a statewide mandate implemented to increase engagement and resources for individuals who may not seek assistance on their own accord due partly to the severity of their symptoms.
The 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.
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 a family member, housemates, first responders and behavioral health workers. The respondent must have a diagnosis of the schizophrenia spectrum or other psychotic disorders.
An individual must meet all the following criteria to be eligible for CARE Act proceedings:
They are 18 years old or older.
They have a diagnosis of schizophrenia spectrum or another psychotic disorder.
They currently are experiencing a mental illness that is severe in degree and persistent in duration, which may cause behavioral functioning that interferes substantially with the primary activities of daily living and that 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.
They are not currently clinically stabilized in an ongoing voluntary treatment program.
An individual also should 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 support 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.
The person is likely to benefit from participation in CARE.
Certain conditions and disorders are excluded. Serious mental illnesses outside of the psychotic disorder class are excluded, including bipolar disorder, major depression and post-trauma stress disorder.
Psychotic disorders due to medical conditions, such as traumatic brain injury, autism, dementia or other physical health or neurological conditions are also excluded.
Lastly, substance use disorders that do not otherwise meet the definition of a psychotic disorder are excluded.
For more information, you can reach Merced Superior Court-Self Help at 209-725-4168 or by email at selfhelp@mercedcoourt.org
Here is the website link for CARE-101 Mental Health Declaration—CARE Act Proceedings for those who may need it. https://www.courts.ca.gov/documents/care101.pdf
