The new California law scheduled to go into effect in December of next year, known as CARE Court, will start early in L.A. County - a year early, this Friday.
KNX News' Craig Fiegener spoke with County Supervisor Janice Hahn, who said the jail alternative, designed for people who suffer from untreated mental illness, is just what the county needs.
"It is another tool that we can use to get someone who has severe mental illness, psychotic disorder, to be sentenced not to jail, but sentenced to care," said Supervisor Hahn.
Those who are in the criminal justice system can petition a special CARE Court judge to avoid trial and instead receive mental health treatment.
According to Hahn, diversion from county jails is a major focus for the county board of Supervisors. "We believe in care first, jail last," she said.
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L.A. county's public defender Ricardo García says it's very much a real-world experiment. "CARE Court is a novel approach. It's a new way of helping some of our most vulnerable and needy individuals within Los Angeles County through our judicial system. So we're not 100% certain what to expect from the care court process."
Because CARE Court is so new, It's unclear how many people will be admitted to the program or if people accused of very serious crimes will be eligible, but Hahn said that a successful petition would likely require the applicant to have already had a diagnosis prior to submission.
So, who's footing the bill for this experiment? According to Supervisor Hahn the costs of the program are being picked up by the L.A. County Department of Public Health.
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