California law states that a conservator may be appointed to provide for the financial and/or personal care and treatment needs of an individual, who due to a mental health illness, is unable to care for themselves. Conservatorship is a court proceeding to appoint a legally responsible party. A Conservatorship shifts the responsibility for the care and/or financial decisions from the Conservatee to the conservator.

Mendocino County Public Conservator’s office serves as the Conservator of LPS conservatorships. The Conservator arranges placement and mental health treatment for Mendocino County residents who are gravely disabled as the result of a mental health illness.

What is Grave Disability? 

A condition in which a person, as a result of a mental health illness is unable to provide for his or her basic personal needs for food, clothing or shelter. WIC Section 5008(h)(1) (A) and (2).

Types of LPS Conservatorship:

            Temporary Conservatorship: Frequently known as a T-Con; Temporary Conservatorships are set up when a person needs immediate help. A judge may appoint a temporary conservator of the person or estate, or both, for a specific period until a permanent conservator can be appointed. The temporary conservator arranges for temporary care, protection and support of the conservatee and protects the conservatee's property from loss or damage.

            Permanent Conservatorship: An permanent LPS conservatorship is established by court order following a comprehensive investigation and submission of report and recommendations. A permanent LPS conservatorship lasts for a year unless a treating doctor or the court determines that the conservatee no longer meets the legal criteria for conservatorship. If the individual still meets criteria for grave disability, a renewal petition shall be filed with the Courts to renew the conservatorship.

            Murphy Conservatorship: A conservatorship established under the LPS Act where the individual being conserved has been charged with a felony involving death, great bodily harm, or a serious threat to the physical well-being of another person, the charge has not been dismissed after a probable cause hearing, and it has been determined that the individual, because of a mental disorder, is unable to understand the proceedings taken against him or her, or to rationally assist counsel in his or her defense, and that the individual represents a substantial danger of physical harm to others because of mental disease, defect or disorder.  WIC Section 5008(h)(1)(B).

Services provided by the LPS Conservatorship: 

· Arranging for the conservatee’s care and protection.

· Making arrangements for conservatee’s health care, placement, and personal care.

· Managing the conservatee’s finances, budget, bills, and assets.

Placements

Mendocino County has a limited number of placements available in County. Mendocino County Behavioral Health and Recovery Services contract with a number of 24-hour care placements across the State of California offering different levels of care to provide individualized care to beneficiaries.

Monitoring Care and Returning Home

The LPS Act requires that conserved individuals are always placed in the least restrictive level of care necessary to meet their needs. The Conservator’s Office works with the individual and treatment facilities to ensure the least restrictive level of care with the goal to assist individuals in returning to the community and independent living when the individual is able to safely care for themselves. 

Please contact Mendocino County Public Conservator’s Office for more information:

Mendocino County Behavioral Health and Recovery Services
Public Conservator’s Office
1120 S. Dora Street
Ukiah, CA 95482

Phone: 707-472-2399
Fax: 707-472-2331