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More than a year-and-a-half in, Los Angeles County Supervisors say California\u2019s big plan to get more people living with serious mental illness into treatment needs improving.<\/p>\n
Known as CARE Court, the program launched in L.A. County in December 2023 and was promised as an innovative approach to bringing thousands of Californians living with untreated serious mental illness \u2014 like schizophrenia \u2014 under the care of mental health professionals.<\/p>\n
CARE Court<\/a> allows family members, behavioral health workers, first responders and others to ask a court \u2014 by way of a petition \u2014 to step in with a voluntary care plan for someone living with serious mental illness. If the plan fails, the person could be hospitalized or referred to a conservatorship.<\/p>\n But so far the number of people served by the program is far below initial projections, with 386 petitions<\/a> from the program\u2019s inception in 2023 through Feb. 28, 2025.<\/p>\n The vast majority of those petitions, 305, came from concerned family members.<\/p>\n The Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a motion<\/a> from members Janice Hahn and Kathryn Barger, which, among other things, directs the L.A. County Department of Mental Health to report back in four months with ways to streamline the process for referrals from first responders, like paramedics.<\/p>\n The motion states that there \u201cmay be an opportunity for DMH to expedite the process for first responders to refer frequent 911 callers to CARE Court if they meet criteria, and meetings to discuss this issue are under way.\u201d<\/p>\n A county report on CARE Court lists outreach and training for first responders, including law enforcement and L.A. County paramedics, as an opportunity for this year.<\/p>\n \u201cThat is a big issue that we need to train our first responders on this as a tool and mechanism,\u201d Traute Winters, Executive Director of NAMI Greater Los Angeles County, told LAist.<\/p>\n Winters also said it became clear from what she\u2019s heard from families, as well as county listening sessions, that family members who do file a petition hoping to get help for a loved one feel out of the loop once the process starts.<\/p>\n \u201cThey petition and then they\u2019re not involved or not updated on what\u2019s going on or included. And often the family can give a lot of history and insight,\u201d Winters said.<\/p>\n The motion approved Tuesday also directs the Department of Mental Health to look at ways to improve \u201cfamily and petitioner inclusion after initial applications are submitted.\u201d<\/p>\n