Cal. WIC § 5696
This is the official text of Cal. WIC § 5696, part of California’s Welfare and Institutions Code — governs public social services, juvenile justice, and mental health/developmental disability services.
Not legal advice. This page reproduces the official text of a government statute for reference only. Laws change, and how a statute applies depends on your specific facts. For advice about your situation, consult a licensed attorney in your state.
Official statutory text
Prior to the opening of a regional facility, the board of directors shall develop written admission criteria, approved by the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, Division of Juvenile Facilities, for those minors who are most at risk of entering the adult criminal justice system as offenders who have mental health disorders and are at high risk of committing predatory and violent crimes, including, but not limited to, the following requirements:
(a) The minor is at the time of commitment between 12 and 18 years of age, the minor has been adjudged to be a ward of the juvenile court pursuant to Section 602, and the minor’s custody has been placed under the supervision of a probation officer pursuant to Section 727.
(b) The ward has serious emotional disturbance as is evidenced by a diagnosis from the current edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders and evidences behavior inappropriate to the ward’s age according to expected developmental norms. Additionally, all of the following must be present:
(1) The behavior presents a danger to the community or self and requires intensive supervision and treatment, but the ward is not amenable to other private or public residential treatment programs because the ward’s behavior requires a secure setting.
(2) The symptomology is both severe and frequent.
(3) The inappropriate behavior is persistent.
(a) The minor is at the time of commitment between 12 and 18 years of age, the minor has been adjudged to be a ward of the juvenile court pursuant to Section 602, and the minor’s custody has been placed under the supervision of a probation officer pursuant to Section 727.
(b) The ward has serious emotional disturbance as is evidenced by a diagnosis from the current edition of the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders and evidences behavior inappropriate to the ward’s age according to expected developmental norms. Additionally, all of the following must be present:
(1) The behavior presents a danger to the community or self and requires intensive supervision and treatment, but the ward is not amenable to other private or public residential treatment programs because the ward’s behavior requires a secure setting.
(2) The symptomology is both severe and frequent.
(3) The inappropriate behavior is persistent.
Status: in_force · Read it on the official government site
Need a lawyer in California?
Find a California lawyer
About this page: Statute text is reproduced from official government publishers via the
Open US Law dataset
(Vaquill AI, snapshot v2026.08, CC BY 4.0). Primary legislative text like this is public domain under the government-edicts doctrine
(Georgia v. Public.Resource.Org, 2020). We link every section back to its official source so you can verify it independently.