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CARE Act Resources for Petitioners

The CARE Act allows specific people to petition a civil court to begin proceedings for an individual who needs support. The person who would benefit from services is called the “respondent.”

What You Need to Know Before You Start:

  • Where to File: Petitions must be filed in the county where the respondent lives, is found, or is facing court proceedings. All California counties are currently accepting petitions.
  • Finding Your Court: Visit our County Directory to find the specific county behavioral health and Superior Court websites for your area.
  • Who Can File a Petition: For a full list of people eligible to file a petition, see the FAQ on who can file a petition.
  • Who Can Refer: Certain Lanterman-Petris-Short (LPS) facilities can opt to make a referral to county behavioral health instead of filing a petition, and some courts may either make a referral directly to the CARE court or through county behavioral health.

Access the resources below and watch this brief overview for a step-by-step look at the petitioning process.

Select Your Role to Get Started

The petitioning process varies depending on your relationship to the individual in need of support. Choose the category below that best describes your role to find step-by-step instructions, specific court forms, and specialized training resources tailored to your needs.

Eligible petitioners include someone who lives with the respondent. It can also include a spouse or registered domestic partner, parent (or someone who stands in the place of a parent to the respondent), sibling, child, or grandparent.

Step-by-Step: Filing as a Family Member or Roommate

  • Step 1 – Understand the Basics: Read the Family Resource Guide to learn how the CARE Act works and if it is the right fit for your family member or roommate.
  • Step 2 – Consider Eligibility: Based on what you have seen and know about the person, consider if they might be eligible. Do they have an eligible diagnosis and meet a few other criteria? A judge will make the final decision, but you should be able to provide enough information to support that the person may qualify.
  • Step 3 – Complete the Forms: Download and fill out these specific documents:
    • CARE-050-INFO Guide: A simple instruction sheet to help you fill out the forms.
    • CARE-100 Petition: The main document submitted to the court to help a judge determine eligibility. In addition to information on completing the CARE-100, this resource includes information on how to fill out the form.
    • CARE-101 Mental Health Declaration: You fill out the top section, and a licensed behavioral professional (such as a doctor or clinical social worker) should complete the clinical section.
    • Instead of the CARE-101 declaration, you can provide evidence that the person has had at least two intensive treatments (W&I Code § 5250), one within the last 60 days. Evidence could include hospital discharge papers or a signed declaration from someone with direct knowledge of the hospitalizations. If you have personal knowledge of the treatments, you may include that information directly on the CARE-100 petition form or through a declaration attached to the petition.
  • Step 4 – Get Help with Filing: You don’t have to do this alone.

Who are System Partners? System partners include hospital directors, licensed behavioral health professionals, public guardians or conservators, adult protective services, tribal court judges, homeless outreach workers, Indian Health Services programs, and first responders with repeated interactions with the individual.

Step-by-Step: Filing as a System Partner

  • Step 1 – Understand the Basics: Review the CARE Act at a Glance for an overall look at the CARE Act.
  • Step 2 – Consider Eligibility: Based on what you have seen and know about the person, you should consider whether they might be eligible. Do they have an eligible diagnosis and meet a few other criteria? A judge will make the final decision, but you should be able to provide enough information to support that the person may qualify.
  • Step 3 – Choose the Correct Form:
    • Licensed Behavioral Health Professionals: Use the CARE-102 Petition. This is a simplified form that combines the petition (CARE-100) and the mental health declaration (CARE-101).
    • Non-Clinicians: Use the CARE-100 and coordinate with a licensed professional to sign the CARE-101 Declaration. This resource includes information on how to fill out the form. If a declaration from a licensed professional isn’t an option, you can instead provide evidence that the person has had at least two intensive treatments (W&I Code § 5250), one within the last 60 days. Evidence could include hospital discharge papers or a signed declaration from someone with direct knowledge of the hospitalizations. If you have that personal knowledge, you may include it directly on the CARE-100 petition form or through a declaration attached to the petition.
  • Step 4 – Get Help with Filing: You don’t have to do this alone.

Specialized Trainings by Role

County behavioral health agencies may submit petitions for individuals they believe may be eligible. They can also work with community and system partners to let them know that CARE is an option. County behavioral health is required to respond to referrals from specific courts and facilities, and may choose to accept informal referrals from other sources such as community partners and family members.

  • Specialized Technical Resources
  • Step-by-Step: Filing as County Behavioral Health
    • Licensed Behavioral Health Professionals: Use the CARE-102 Petition. This is a simplified form that combines the petition (CARE-100) and the mental health declaration (CARE-101).
    • Non-Clinicians: Use the CARE-100 and coordinate with a licensed professional to sign the CARE-101 Declaration. This resource includes information on how to fill out the form. If a declaration from a licensed professional isn’t an option, you can instead provide evidence that the person has had at least two intensive treatments (W&I Code § 5250), one within the last 60 days. Evidence could include hospital discharge papers or a signed declaration from someone with direct knowledge of the hospitalizations. If you have that personal knowledge, you may include it directly on the CARE-100 petition form or through a declaration attached to the petition.
    • Get Help with Filing: You can access the Completing a CARE Act Petition tutorial for key steps and tips for completing a petition.