Robert Garrova covers criminal justice for the LAist and KPCC newsroom.
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Some mental health advocacy groups have opposed CARE Court, saying it inappropriately coerces people into treatment and strips them of certain rights. In 2022, 40 groups — including JusticeLA, Disability Rights California and ACLU California Action —saying the program would strip “people with mental health disabilities of their right to make their own decisions about their lives.”
Marco Saenz, a deputy public defender and program director of the Independent Defense Counsel Office, told LAist the state was projecting 1,938 CARE Court petitions in L.A. County during the first six months after the launch. The Independent Defense Counsel Office, which is separate from but administered by the county Public Defender’s Office, worked to select a panel of 50 attorneys who will work with program participants.
Of the existing 155 petitions, at least 120 are still active, Jones said, adding that the county may provide services to people even if they are not the right fit for the program.But that work takes time, especially when participants are living on the streets or go missing. Jones, from the L.A. County Department of Mental Health, said CARE Court provides support for family members who have struggled for years to get their loved ones help. More than 140 of the petitions received so far have come from family members of someone living with mental illness.
Serious Mental Illness Schizophrenia Mental Health Crisis Homelessness
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