Bill > SB27

This bill expands and refines the existing Community Assistance, Recovery, and Empowerment (CARE) Court Program, which helps individuals with severe mental illnesses access behavioral health services and supports. The bill now includes people with bipolar I disorder with psychotic features and allows courts to make prima facie determinations without hearings. It broadens referral pathways to the CARE program, including from felony proceedings, and enables courts to refer individuals from various legal contexts such as assisted outpatient treatment and conservatorship proceedings. The bill allows county behavioral health agencies and jail medical providers to share confidential medical records to determine program eligibility and permits additional progress hearings beyond the initial 60-day period. The legislation also expands the types of licensed behavioral health professionals who can prepare affidavits supporting CARE process petitions, now including nurse practitioners and physician assistants. The bill mandates comprehensive annual reporting on program outcomes, tracking demographic data, service provisions, housing placements, treatment continuity, substance use, criminal justice involvement, and health equity metrics. By increasing duties on county behavioral health agencies, the bill creates a state-mandated local program, with potential state reimbursement for associated costs.

Budget and Finance, Health and Social Services, Justice

https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/billStatusClient.xhtml?bill_id=202520260SB27