Chapter 7.C.4: Civil Commitment and Mandatory Treatment

NOTES: MANDATORY MENTAL HEALTH TREATMENT (pp. 679-682)

1. Trends in Mental Health Treatment. In response to increasing concerns about public drug use by severely incapacitated individuals, California expanded the grounds for involuntary commitment to include severe substance abuse. See, e.g., California Senate Bill 43 (Stats. 2023, ch. 637), effective Jan. 1, 2024, amending Cal. Welf. & Inst. Code § 5008(h)(1)(A)’s definition of “gravely disabled” to include severe substance disorders that leave individuals unable to provide for their basic needs.