Civil Commitment is a legal status that occurs when the court system determines an individual is a danger to himself, others, or gravely disabled due to a mental health condition and is unable to participate in a voluntary course of treatment. He or she is then “committed” for a period of up to 180 days.
Civil Commitments get initiated in 2 ways.
The first begins when an individual presents at a designated Hospital such as Bay Area Hospital and presents as an active danger to themselves, others or is presenting as unable to take for him/herself to the extent it is dangerous to their health. In this situation, a physician along with a 2nd professional can initiate a “Mental Health Hold.” This Hold allows an individual to be kept involuntarily in hospital care for a period of up to 5 days. In this 5 day time period CHW does an investigation to determine if there is probable cause to believe that the individual is dangerous, which in turn would require a legal hearing to determine whether the individual should be committed. Civil Commitment hearings themselves are a formalized legal process in front of a judge with the defendant, defense and prosecuting attorney, and called witnesses. During the hearing the investigator testifies to his or her report and a special court appointed examiner, who is a mental health expert, is also present who can ask questions and prepares a special report for the court. The judge ultimately rules on the matter.
Civil commitments can also be initiated through a “Two Party Petition” process which allows 2 parties having direct knowledge of the individual to petition the court to initiate a Pre-commitment investigation. In this case, the 2 parties complete the relevant request along with the pertinent information and return the petition to CHW (Notification of Mental Illness Two Party Petition). CHW then assigns an investigator to complete the investigation within 15 days. The report is then filed with the court regarding whether there is probable cause to hold a hearing. If so the court schedules the hearing as above.