CARE Act

CARE Act Header

*Information Session on the CARE Act and CARE Court via Facebook Live will be held on Wednesday, September 6 at 5:00 P.M. Tune in on the County's Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/tuolumnecountygovernment

The CARE Act creates a new pathway to deliver mental health and substance use disorder services to the most severely impaired Californians. The CARE Act moves care and support upstream, providing the most vulnerable Californians with access to critical behavioral health services, housing, and support. A CARE Act Fact Sheet can be accessed by clicking HERE.

CARE Court, as part of the CARE Act is a new civil court process that will implemented in seven California counties including Tuolumne County on October 1, 2023. This court process seeks to engage individuals who are in dire need of behavioral health support, but have yet to engage in available services. 

Individuals who qualify for this new court process are limited to those with severe mental illness, diagnosed with Schizophrenia Spectrum Disorder or related psychotic disorders. The new CARE Court process can be initiated by specified service providers (petitioners). Below is a list of those who may be considered a petitioner for an eligible individual: 

  • Individuals themselves, or an adult with whom the individual resides
  • A spouse, parent, sibling, child, grandparent, or a person acting as a parent (loco parentis) 
  • Director of a hospital, or designee in which the individual is hospitalized due to 5150 or 5250
  • Director of a public or charitable agency, or home, who currently or in the past 30 days provided behavioral health services
  • Director of Behavioral Health
  • Director of Adult Protective Services
  • Public Guardian
  • Judge of a tribal court located in California
  • Licensed behavioral health professional who within the last 30 days provided or supervised treatment
  • First responder who had repeated interactions with the individual
    • Peace officer
    • Firefighter
    • Paramedic
    • EMT
    • Mobile crisis response
    • Homeless outreach

Please click HERE for the CARE Court Fact Sheet.

A presentation on CARE Court was provided at the Tuolumne County Board of Supervisors meeting on July 18, 2023 during at a 10:00 A.M. appointment. The recording can be viewed HERE. An Information Session on the CARE Act and CARE Court via Facebook Live will be held on Wednesday, September 6 at 5:00 P.M. Tune in on the County's Facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/tuolumnecountygovernment

CARE Court