California Penal Code

§ 4011.6

PEN § 4011.6 Effective Jan 1, 2026Title 4 · Part 3 · Ch. 1

Statute text

(a)(1) If it appears to the person in charge of a county jail, city jail, or juvenile detention facility, or to any judge of a court in the county in which the jail or juvenile detention facility is located, that a person in custody in that jail or juvenile detention facility may have a mental health disorder, that person or judge may cause the prisoner to be taken to a facility for 72-hour treatment and evaluation pursuant to Section 5150 of the Welfare and Institutions Code and shall inform the facility in writing, which shall be confidential, of the reasons that the person is being taken to the facility. The local mental health director or the director’s designee may examine the prisoner prior to transfer to a facility for treatment and evaluation. Upon transfer to a facility, Article 1 (commencing with Section 5150), Article 4 (commencing with Section 5250), Article 4.5 (commencing with Section 5260), Article 5 (commencing with Section 5275), Article 6 (commencing with Section 5300), and Article 7 (commencing with Section 5325) of Chapter 2 and Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 5350) of Part 1 of Division 5 of the Welfare and Institutions Code apply to the prisoner.

(2)If the court causes the prisoner to be transferred to a 72-hour facility, the court shall immediately notify the local mental health director or the director’s designee, the prosecuting attorney, and counsel for the prisoner in the criminal or juvenile proceedings about that transfer. Where the person in charge of the jail or juvenile detention facility causes the transfer of the prisoner to a 72-hour facility, the person shall immediately notify the local mental health director or the director’s designee and each court within the county where the prisoner has a pending proceeding about the transfer. Upon notification by the person in charge of the jail or juvenile detention facility, the court shall immediately notify counsel for the prisoner and the prosecuting attorney in the criminal or juvenile proceedings about that transfer.

(3)When a person in custody is transferred from a jail to a 72-hour facility for treatment and evaluation pursuant to this subdivision, the fact that the person has temporary access to food, clothing, shelter, personal safety, and necessary medical care while incarcerated is not a basis to conclude that the person is able to provide for their basic personal needs, which shall be evaluated based upon the person’s ability to provide for those needs outside the jail setting.

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Legislative history

Amended by Stats. 2025, Ch. 330, Sec. 2. (SB 820) Effective January 1, 2026.