Inicio Ley de Asistencia Comunitaria, Recuperación y Empoderamiento​​ 

Ley de Asistencia, Recuperación y Empoderamiento de la Comunidad​​ 

Visión general​​ 

Senate Bill (SB) 1338 (Umberg, Chapter 319, Statutes of 2022) established the Community Assistance, Recovery, and Empowerment (CARE) Act, which provides community-based behavioral health services and supports to Californians living with schizophrenia spectrum, other psychotic disorders, or bipolar I disorder with psychotic features who meet health and safety criteria. It is a new civil court process where certain people, such as family members, first responders, and providers, may file a petition to the court to create a voluntary CARE agreement or a court-ordered CARE plan. A CARE agreement or CARE plan may include treatment, housing resources, and other services. The CARE Act is intended to serve as an upstream intervention for individuals experiencing severe impairment to prevent avoidable psychiatric hospitalizations, incarcerations, and Lanterman-Petris-Short (LPS) Mental Health Conservatorships. The CARE Process will provide earlier action, support, and accountability for both CARE clients, and the local governments responsible for providing behavioral health services to these individuals.​​  

La Ley CARE se implementó en dos cohortes. La cohorte I comenzó el 1de octubre de 2023e incluyó siete condados: Glenn, Orange, Riverside, San Diego, Stanislaus y Tuolumne, y la ciudad y el condado de San Francisco. El condado de Los Ángeles se encuentra en la Cohorte II, pero eligió implementarlo temprano, el 1de diciembre de 2023. Se requirió que los condados restantes de la Cohorte II implementaran el 1de diciembre de 2024o antes.​​ 

Legislación​​ 

On July 10, 2023, Assembly Bill (AB) 102 (Ting, Chapter 102, Statutes of 2023) was signed into law. AB 102 requires the Department of Health Care Services, in consultation with the Judicial Council of California, to provide an early implementation report on key data for each trial court implementing the CARE Act. The report must include: (1) the number of petitions submitted, (2) the number of petitions dismissed, (3) the number of CARE Act participants, and (4) the number of court hearings held during October 1, 2023, through June 30, 2024. The early implementation report will be submitted to the Joint Legislative Budget Committee and the Budget Committees of each house of the Legislature by December 1, 2024.​​   

Additionally, AB 102 requires the Legal Services Trust Fund Commission (LSTFC) at the State Bar of California to collect outcome data from each county’s public defender office, qualified legal services projects (QLSP), and support centers. The State Bar of California shall annually provide to the Judicial Council a report that includes funding allocations, annual expenditures, and program outcomes by service area and service provider to be included in DHCS’ annual CARE report.​​   

On September 30, 2023, Senate Bill (SB) 35 (Umberg, Chapter 283, Statutes of 2023) was signed into law. SB 35 clarifies requirements for the CARE process and makes technical changes that will allow the CARE Act to be implemented successfully. Additionally, the bill specifies the information, including protected health information, that must be shared between behavioral health agencies and providers. This information is necessary to support the determinations, conclusions, and recommendations for the written report submitted to the court to document the respondent’s eligibility for the CARE process.​​ 

On September 27, 2024, SB 42 (Umberg, Chapter 640, Statutes of 2024) was signed into law and contained an urgency clause that became effective immediately after signing. SB 42 creates an additional pathway of referring an individual from LPS designated facilities to the CARE Act process. This bill additionally amends the Welfare and Institutions Code regarding communication between courts, alternatives to conservatorship, technical changes to CARE procedures, as well as collaboration on system performance.​​   

On September 27, 2024, SB 1400 (Stern, Chapter 647, Statutes of 2024) was signed into law. SB 1400 amends provisions of the Penal Code related to misdemeanor incompetent to stand trial (MIST) referrals to CARE. The bill provides that if the defendant is accepted into CARE, the criminal charges shall be dismissed six months after the date of the referral to CARE, unless the defendant’s case has been referred back to the criminal court prior to the expiration of that time period. The bill additionally amends provisions of the Welfare and Institutions Code to expand the requirements for data reporting, including data related to inquiries and system referrals. This data shall be included in the annual report to examine the scope of impact and monitor the performance of CARE Act model implementation.​​ 

El 27de septiembre de 2024, se promulgó la ley SB 1323 (Menjivar, Capítulo 646, Estatutos de 2024). SB 1323 enmienda las disposiciones del Código Penal relacionadas con la incompetencia para ser juzgada (IST) por delitos graves específicos para autorizar referencias a los procedimientos CARE. Si el acusado es aceptado en CARE, los cargos serán desestimados de conformidad con la Sección 1385 del Código Penal.​​ 

El 10de octubre de 2025, se promulgó la SB 27 (Umberg, Capítulo 528, Estatutos de 2025). SB 27 enmienda las disposiciones del Código de Bienestar e Instituciones para ampliar los diagnósticos elegibles para incluir a las personas que viven con trastorno bipolar I con características psicóticas, excepto la psicosis relacionada con la intoxicación actual. Este proyecto de ley también define clínicamente estabilizado en tratamiento continuo; proporciona una vía más directa para las derivaciones del Tratamiento Ambulatorio Asistido (AOT), los procedimientos de tutela de LPS y los tribunales IST de delitos graves y menores; establece que las enfermeras practicantes y los asistentes médicos se consideran profesionales de salud conductual con licencia solo con el propósito de firmar la Declaración de salud mental en apoyo de una petición de CARE; permite que el tribunal tome una determinación prima facie sin realizar una audiencia; y otras modificaciones técnicas. Además, SB 27 enmienda las disposiciones del Código Penal para autorizar a la agencia de salud conductual del condado y a los proveedores médicos de la cárcel a compartir registros médicos confidenciales y otra información relevante con el tribunal con el fin de determinar la probabilidad de elegibilidad para los servicios de salud conductual y Program.​​  

To read the bills in full, please visit the California Legislative Information webpage.​​  

Capacitación y Asistencia Técnica​​ 

DHCS has contracted with Health Management Associates (HMA) to provide training and technical assistance, implementation support, and data collection and reporting for the CARE Act. HMA has developed the CARE Act Resource Center, which provides training, technical assistance and resources to county behavioral health agencies, counsel, volunteer supporters, and other stakeholders to support the implementation of the CARE Act. The Resource Center will continue to be updated with new information and training material.​​  

Join the HMA CARE Act email listserv to receive notification of trainings, technical assistance and other stakeholder engagement opportunities specific to the CARE Act implementation. For additional information, or to request training and technical assistance, please email info@CARE-Act.org.​​ 

Recursos de DHCS​​ 

Informes y actualizaciones importantes​​ 

Videos de la Ley CARE en el trabajo​​ 

Avisos y recursos informativos​​ 

Recursos adicionales​​ 

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