A petitioner could include lay individuals 18 years or older, such as:

• A person who lives with the respondent.
• A spouse or registered domestic partner, parent, sibling, child, or grandparent of the respondent.
• A person who stands in the place of a parent to the respondent.

A petition can also be filed by a number of system partners, including:

• The director of a hospital* in which the respondent is hospitalized.
• The director of a public or charitable organization, agency, or home* who has provided behavioral health services to the respondent within the previous 30 days or in whose institution the respondent resides.
• A licensed behavioral health professional* who has provided or supervised treatment for the respondent within the previous 30 days.
• The public guardian or public conservator* of the county.
• A first responder (e.g. a peace officer, firefighter, paramedic, emergency medical technician, mobile crisis response worker, or homeless outreach worker) who has had repeated interactions with the respondent.
• The director of a county behavioral health agency* of the county.
• The director of county adult protective services* of the county.
• The director of a California Indian health services program* or California tribal behavioral health department,* who has provided behavioral health services to the respondent within the past 30 days.
• The judge of a tribal court* located in California before which the respondent has appeared within the previous 30 days.

Note that in many instances, the eligible petitioners include a “designee,” as indicated with an asterisk in the list above. These designees include individuals at the organization who have been identified as being able to complete the petition. A “designee” of the director of a hospital could, for example, include a psychiatrist, social worker, or other treatment team member.
At the initial appearance, the petitioner will be replaced by the director of the county behavioral health agency, or a designee.
For more information, see CARE Act Resources for Petitioners.