Welfare and Institutions Code section 5978
(a)
A court may refer an individual from assisted outpatient treatment, from conservatorship proceedings pursuant to Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 5350) of Part 1 of Division 5 (LPS conservatorship), from misdemeanor proceedings pursuant to Section 1370.01 of the Penal Code, or from felony proceedings pursuant to Section 1370 of the Penal Code to the CARE Act court.(b)
The CARE Act court may consider a referral made pursuant to this section to be a petition satisfying the requirements of paragraph (3) of subdivision (a) of Section 5977 if both of the following conditions are met:(1)
The referral contains all of the information required to be included in a CARE process petition pursuant to Section 5975.(2)
The information included in the referral makes a prima facie showing that the respondent is, or may be, a person described in Section 5972.(c)
If the CARE Act court elects to consider a referral to be a petition pursuant to subdivision (b), the CARE Act court shall notify the referring court that the referral has been accepted as a petition for CARE Act proceedings.(d)
If the CARE Act court does not elect to consider a referral to be a petition pursuant to subdivision (b), the CARE Act court shall order the appropriate petitioner candidate to do the following within 14 court days:(1)
Complete an investigation to determine whether to file a petition on behalf of the referred individual.(2)
Notify the referring court whether it intends to file a CARE Act petition on behalf of the referred individual.(e)
If the appropriate petitioner candidate notifies the CARE Act court that it requires additional time to complete its investigation pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (d), the CARE Act court may grant an extension of up to 30 court days.(f)
For purposes of this section, “appropriate petitioner candidate” means:(1)
For referrals from assisted outpatient treatment or from misdemeanor or felony proceedings, the county behavioral health director or their designee.(2)
For referrals from conservatorship proceedings, the conservator or proposed conservator.
Source:
Section 5978, https://leginfo.legislature.ca.gov/faces/codes_displaySection.xhtml?lawCode=WIC§ionNum=5978. (updated Jan. 1, 2026; accessed Dec. 15, 2025).
