(The Center Square) – A new bill making its way through the California Legislature this year aims to allow families of mentally ill defendants to stay involved in their loved one’s court proceedings and care.
According to a legislative analysis, Senate Bill 1242 would keep a family member in the loop when that member is the original petitioner for their loved one to go through CARE Court.
“Initially, once the proceeding was initiated, continued input by the family should be allowed, but it has not been the practice,” Sen. Steven Choi, R-Irvine and author of the bill, told The Center Square on Monday morning. “It required the respondent’s consent, and sometimes, the respondent may have their own neurological impairment, preventing them even to recognize their illness. Sometimes they may experience paranoia to their own families.”
The bill would remove that impediment to family members who originally petitioned their loved one to be heard in CARE Court to continue providing information to the court that would assist in their mentally ill loved one’s treatment, Choi said.
“A judge would have discretion and have his or her own judgment in preventing family members to participate if they determine that such participation would be detrimental to the respondent’s treatment or well-being,” Choi added. “So this is not excluding the judge’s intervention.”
Opponents of the bill told The Center Square on Monday that they are concerned that the bill could strip CARE Court respondents of their rights under current law, which allows a CARE Court respondent to pick a person from a list of family members and other trusted individuals to provide information to the court.
“SB 1242 would eliminate the respondent’s right to select a specific support person they trust,” said Meron Agonafer, policy director at Cal Voices, a mental health support organization that opposes the bill.
“Cal Voices believes this would infringe on the respondent’s right to choose a supporter, undermining the voluntary nature of the CARE process,” Agonafer told The Center Square. “We would love to see this entire bill killed.”
The bill’s advocates said the goal is for families of mentally-ill loved ones going through CARE Court to keep playing a role in their loved one’s care.
“What we have noticed is that a supporter role is actually not producing that partnership,” said Suzanne Fidler, a psychiatrist, attorney and a member of the Orange County Bar Association.
“It’s more the family petitioner who is going to have that relevant, concurrent, real-time information about the respondent to inform the CARE Court team, as well as ensure that resources are being received by the respondent,” Fidler told The Center Square on Monday.
CARE Court, or the Community Assistance, Recovery and Empowerment Court, was established by Senate Bill 1338 in 2022. The CARE Court Program Act allowed someone, usually a family member, to petition a court to enroll the defendant in mental health treatment services. Any treatment programs or services provided to the mentally ill person are completely voluntary.
According to a 2023 report from the Public Policy Institute of California, roughly 19,000 inmates in California’s jail population had some form of mental illness in 2023, part of a dramatic climb in the number of mentally-ill inmates. That same report shows that between January 2010 and June 2023, the percentage of inmates with mental illness jumped from 20% to 53%.
Senate Bill 1242 passed out of the Senate Judiciary Committee on April 29 and will now head to the Senate floor.
