2023 California Code › Welfare and Institutions Code - WIC › DIVISION 5 - COMMUNITY MENTAL HEALTH SERVICES › PART 8 - The Community Assistance, Recovery, and Empowerment Act › CHAPTER 2 - Process › Section 5977.

5977. (a) (1) The court shall promptly review the petition to determine if the petitioner has made a prima facie showing that the respondent is, or may be, a person described in Section 5972.
(2) If the court finds that the petitioner has not made a prima facie showing that the respondent is, or may be, a person described in Section 5972, the court may dismiss the case without prejudice subject to consideration of Section 5975.1.
(3) If the court finds that the petitioner has made a prima facie showing that the respondent is, or may be, a person described in Section 5972, the court shall do one of the following:
(A) If the petitioner is the director of a county behavioral health agency, or their designee, the court shall do the following:
(i) Set the matter for an initial appearance on the petition within 14 court days.
(ii) Appoint a qualified legal services project, as defined in Sections 6213 to 6214.5, inclusive, of the Business and Professions Code, to represent the respondent. If no legal services project has agreed to accept these appointments, a public defender or other counsel working in that capacity shall be appointed to represent the respondent.
(iii) Determine whether the petition includes all of the following information and, if it does not, order the county behavioral health agency to submit a written report with the court within 14 court days that includes all of the following:
(I) A determination as to whether the respondent meets, or is likely to meet, the criteria for the CARE process.
(II) The outcome of efforts made to voluntarily engage the respondent prior to the filing of the petition.
(III) Conclusions and recommendations about the respondent’s ability to voluntarily engage in services.
(iv) Order the county behavioral health agency to provide notice to the respondent, the appointed counsel, and the county behavioral health agency in the county where the respondent resides, if different from the county where the CARE process has commenced.
(B) If the petitioner is a person other than the director of a county behavioral health agency, or their designee, the court shall order a county agency, or their designee, as determined by the court, to investigate, as necessary, and file a written report with the court within 14 court days and provide notice to the respondent and petitioner that a report has been ordered. The written report shall include all of the following:
(i) A determination as to whether the respondent meets, or is likely to meet, the criteria for the CARE process.
(ii) The outcome of efforts made to voluntarily engage the respondent during the 14-day report period.
(iii) Conclusions and recommendations about the respondent’s ability to voluntarily engage in services.
(iv) The information, including protected health information, necessary to support the determinations, conclusions, and recommendations in the report.
(4) If, upon a request by the county agency ordered to investigate and file a report under subparagraph (B) of paragraph (3), the court finds that the county agency is making progress to engage the respondent, the court may, in its discretion, grant the county agency no more than 30 additional days to continue to work with, engage, and enroll the individual in voluntary treatment and services. The county agency shall provide notice to the respondent and petitioner that an extension for filing a report has been granted.
(5) Upon receipt of the report described in subparagraph (B) of paragraph (3), the court shall, within five days, take one of the following actions:
(A) If the court determines that voluntary engagement with the respondent is effective, and that the individual has enrolled or is likely to enroll in voluntary behavioral health treatment, the court shall dismiss the matter.
(B) If the court determines that the county agency’s report does not support the petition’s prima facie showing that the respondent is, or may be, a person described in Section 5972, the court shall dismiss the matter. This section shall not prevent a county behavioral health agency from continuing to voluntarily engage with a person not described in Section 5972 but who is in need of services and supports.
(C) If the court determines that the county agency’s report does support the petition’s prima facie showing that the respondent is, or may be, a person described in Section 5972, and engagement with the county agency was not effective, the court shall do all of the following:
(i) Set an initial appearance on the petition within 14 court days.
(ii) Appoint a qualified legal services project, as defined in Sections 6213 to 6214.5, inclusive, of the Business and Professions Code or, if no legal services project has agreed to accept these appointments, a public defender or other counsel working in that capacity to represent the respondent.
(iii) Order the county agency to provide notice of the initial appearance to the petitioner, the respondent, the appointed counsel, the county behavioral health agency in the county where the respondent resides, and, if different, the county where the CARE court proceedings have commenced.
(b) At the initial appearance on the petition, all of the following shall apply:
(1) The court shall permit the respondent to substitute their own counsel.
(2) Petitioner shall be present. If the petitioner is not present, the matter may be dismissed.
(3) Respondent may waive personal appearance and appear through counsel. If the respondent does not waive personal appearance and does not appear at the hearing, and the court makes a finding in open court that reasonable attempts to elicit the attendance of the respondent have failed, the court may conduct the hearing in the respondent’s absence if the court makes a finding in open court that conducting the hearing without the participation or presence of the respondent would be in the respondent’s best interest.
(4) A representative from the county behavioral health agency shall be present.
(5) If the respondent asserts that they are enrolled in a federally recognized Indian tribe or are receiving services from an Indian health care provider, a tribal court, or a tribal organization, a representative from the program, the tribe, or the tribal court shall be allowed to be present, subject to the consent of the respondent. The tribal representative shall be entitled to notice by the county of the initial appearance.
(6) (A) If the petitioner is a person other than the director of a county behavioral health agency, or their designee, the court shall issue an order relieving the original petitioner and appointing the director of the county behavioral health agency or their designee as the successor petitioner.
(B) If the original petitioner is described in subdivision (a) or (b) of Section 5974, all of the following apply:
(i) The original petitioner shall have the right to be present and make a statement at the initial hearing on the merits of the petition held pursuant to paragraph (7).
(ii) The court may, in its discretion, assign ongoing rights of notice to the original petitioner.
(iii) To the extent that the respondent consents, the court may allow the original petitioner to participate in the respondent’s CARE proceedings.
(iv) The original petitioner may file a new petition with the court, pursuant to Section 5974, if the matter is dismissed and there is a change in circumstances.
(C) If the original petitioner is not described in subdivision (a) or (b) of Section 5974, the court shall not assign ongoing rights to the original petitioner, other than the right to be present and make a statement at the hearing on the merits of the petition held pursuant to paragraph (7).
(7) (A) The court shall set a hearing on the merits of the petition within 10 days, at which time the court shall determine whether, by clear and convincing evidence, the respondent meets the CARE criteria in Section 5972. In making this determination, the court shall consider all evidence properly before it, including any report from the county behavioral health agency ordered pursuant to paragraph (3) of subdivision (a) and any additional admissible evidence presented by the parties, including the petition submitted and any statement given by the original petitioner.
(B) The hearing on the merits of the petition may be conducted concurrently with the initial appearance upon stipulation of the successor petitioner and the respondent, subject to the approval by the court.
(c) (1) If, at the hearing on the merits of the petition, the court finds there is not clear and convincing evidence that the respondent meets the CARE criteria in Section 5972, the court shall dismiss the case without prejudice, unless the court makes a finding, in open court, that the original petitioner’s filing was not in good faith, in which case the dismissal shall be with prejudice.
(2) If, at the hearing on the merits of the petition, the court finds by clear and convincing evidence that the respondent meets the CARE criteria in Section 5972, the court shall order the county behavioral health agency to work with the respondent, the respondent’s counsel, and the supporter to engage the respondent in behavioral health treatment and attempt to enter into a CARE agreement. The court shall set a case management hearing within 14 days.
(3) If the respondent is enrolled in a federally recognized Indian tribe, the respondent shall provide notice of the case management hearing to the tribe, subject to the consent of the respondent.
(d) The following shall apply to any written report submitted by a county behavioral health agency to the court pursuant to this section:
(1) The report is confidential and not subject to disclosure or inspection under the California Public Records Act (Division 10 (commencing with Section 7920.000) of Title 1 of the Government Code).
(2) The report is inadmissible in any subsequent legal proceeding, except upon motion of the respondent in that subsequent legal proceeding.
(3) The report shall be confidential pursuant to subdivision (e) of Section 5976.5.
(4) This subdivision shall not affect the applicability of paragraph (2) of subdivision (c) of Section 5977.1, make admissible any evidence that is not otherwise admissible, or permit a witness to base an opinion on any matter that is not a proper basis for such an opinion. The admission or exclusion of evidence shall be pursuant to the rules of evidence established by the Evidence Code, including, but not limited to, Section 352 of the Evidence Code, and by judicial decision.
(Amended by Stats. 2023, Ch. 283, Sec. 13. (SB 35) Effective September 30, 2023. Section conditionally operative as provided in Section 5970.5.)