L.A. County urges state to expand definition of 'gravely disabled'
February 1, 2018
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors approved a motion Tuesday that asks California lawmakers to change the way the state defines "grave disability" in order to give officials more power to forcibly treat mentally ill homeless people.
The motion comes amid concern about the growing number of deaths of the homeless in L.A. County. According to data from the Los Angeles County coroner's office, 831 homeless people died in 2017, compared with 458 in 2013.