Orange County Superior Court Judge Maria Hernandez said the CARE court will be similar to other cooperative courts in the county, such as the Young Adult Diversion Court, where compassion and science will rule.
April Dembosky/KQED
hide caption
toggle caption
April Dembosky/KQED
Orange County Superior Court Judge Maria Hernandez said the CARE court will be similar to other cooperative courts in the county, such as the Young Adult Diversion Court, where compassion and science will rule.
April Dembosky/KQED
When Heidi Sweeney first started having hallucinations, a voice in her head told her that Huntington Beach in Orange County was her safe place. There she sleeps in a homeless encampment behind bikini-clad crowds playing volleyball and riding beach cruisers, then next to the bushes outside a liquor store to drown out the noises only she can hear. I drank vodka.
For years, she refused assistance, insisting to everyone who offered her, “I’m not sick,” until she was arrested by police on charges of petty theft and public intoxication. Her judge gave her an ultimatum: jail or treatment. She chose her treatment.
“I’m so grateful they did that. I needed it, and I think there are other people who need it,” said Sweeney, now 52. Ta.
Ms Sweeney said if she had not been forced into care, she would not have been alive today, returned to work or reunited with her husband. That’s why she supports California’s new civil CARE courts launching this fall in her eight counties: San Francisco, Los AngelesOrange, followed by the rest of the state in 2024.
Under the new system, families and first responders can ask county judges to order treatment for mentally ill people, even if they are not homeless or have committed a crime.
A judge then determines whether the person meets the program’s standards and may oversee a care contract or enforce a treatment plan. That treatment plan may also include involuntary involvement.
The bill creating the program drew fierce opposition last year from disability rights groups, who argued that the features of the CARE court were persuasive amid growing voter frustration over the state’s rise in homelessness. Nevertheless, it passed the state Legislature with near-unanimous support. It is a violation of civil rights for people who have done nothing wrong to access mental health care.
Tensions are rife across California between those who say treatment is voluntary and those who say the current situation allows people to die on the streets “with their rights intact.” .
Veronica Kelly, Orange County’s behavioral health director, will oversee mental health support and care provided through the local CARE court, which begins Oct. 1.
April Dembosky/KQED
hide caption
toggle caption
April Dembosky/KQED
Veronica Kelly, Orange County’s behavioral health director, will oversee mental health support and care provided through the local CARE court, which begins Oct. 1.
April Dembosky/KQED
In Orange County, officials who run these courts must strike a delicate balance of persuading people to accept care without coercion, especially if their illness leads them to believe they are not sick. Must be.
“We’re not going to punish people,” Orange County Superior Court Chief Judge Maria Hernandez said. “I want them to maintain their dignity.”
Orange County estimates between 900 and 1,500 residents will be eligible for CARE court each year, according to the county public defender’s office. Local attorneys, judges, and health officials all work together in designing programs with a clear focus on patients, striving to make the process as gentle and non-threatening as possible.
Hernandez said that means modeling the new civil court after other cooperative courts in the county. There, judges shed their black robes and often step down from their benches to work while looking people in the eye.
One prototype is hers, she said. young adult courtOne day in June, the atmosphere at the venue was truly cheerful. The defendant and his family chatted and laughed while eating snacks set out on a table in the back as three young men “graduated” from the diversion program.
“Judge Hernandez is really great,” said Abraham, 25, a graduate of the program. He asked that only his name be used because he was charged with a felony, and it is now expunged from the records. “I don’t think of her as a judge. She’s just a mother figure. She’s just trying to push you to be better.”
A minute later, Hernandez walked down the courtroom hallway and hugged Abraham.
Even if a CARE court were overseen by a judge like Hernandez, patient advocates oppose the idea. Orlando Vera, who lives with bipolar disorder, said helping vulnerable people recover from mental illness doesn’t mean dragging them into court.
“This is not a place to work out your feelings. It’s a very business-oriented environment, so I feel like this is not the place for that,” Bella said, adding: “Can I stop that? I don’t think I can stop it,” he added. and. ”
Orlando Vela, co-founder of Orange County Peer Voices, said he and others with lived experience of mental illness attend CARE court proceedings on behalf of patients.
April Dembosky/KQED
hide caption
toggle caption
April Dembosky/KQED
Orlando Vela, co-founder of Orange County Peer Voices, said he and others with lived experience of mental illness attend CARE court proceedings on behalf of patients.
April Dembosky/KQED
after the defender failed to persuade Although the state Supreme Court has ordered the program blocked on constitutional grounds, some have called preparations for the CARE court’s rollout “disaster preparedness,” which could lead to catastrophic earthquakes or wildfires. I started to identify with them.
Voices from Orange County FriendsThe group Vera co-founded and runs plans to have a patient advocate in court to attend all CARE court hearings.
“Our focus is on how do we support the people who are using the system,” he said. “We have to be their voice.”
Orange County Behavioral Health Director Veronica Kelly is sympathetic to advocates’ concerns. She said CARE Court is not a program she created to improve the state’s mental health system. But she serves at the pleasure of the governor and other elected officials who control the budget.
“So we’re going to build the Winchester Mystery House,” she said of the 100-year-old San Jose mansion known for its labyrinthine layout. “This structure was fine, but then they started adding hallways and basements on top of buildings in the middle of nowhere. That’s kind of our system.”
Mr. Kelly is trying to shape the new court process into something acceptable to critics. This is why she wants Orange County to go first, she told a roomful of patient advocates during the state conference. patient rights committeeheld in Santa Ana: “So we can help build it into something that’s not an additional waste of time and money and at the same time doesn’t destroy the people it’s trying to serve.”
This means social worker for her behavioral health department or public defender office We may visit people 20, 30, or 40 times to build trust, listen, and set goals.
Under the CARE Act, county courts are allowed to fine public behavioral health agencies $1,000 per day if they fail to locate and enroll patients in treatment by a certain deadline.
Kelly said the county’s judges have agreed to give employees the time and extension they need to properly perform their duties. She also vowed that no one in the county who refuses services will be involuntarily institutionalized, even if the new law allows for it.
“When someone agrees to do something of their own volition, long-term success and long-term commitment to the service provided is much more likely to occur,” she said. .
Kelly pointed to other successful civil court procedures the county has established. Laura’s Law 2002In this study, for every person involved in court-ordered outpatient treatment, an additional 20 people willingly accepted treatment.
She said the county has the same goals for the CARE courts, focusing on finding treatment plans that people voluntarily accept before a judge orders them.
This article is a partnership with: KQED, NPRand KFF Health News.
