The Never-Never Land of Mental Health Law: A Review of Legal Rights of Youth Committed by Their Parents to Psychiatric Facilities in California
I. HISTORICAL PERSPECTIVE AND REASONS FOR RISE IN PSYCHIATRIC HOSPITALIZATION
The minors who are most frequently inappropriately hospitalized are described as "trouble makers," status offenders, or beyond parental control.3 These children are classified by California Welfare and Institution section 601 (hereinafter § 601). Pursuant to this provision minors who violate truancy, curfew or runaway laws, or who are disobedient or unruly, may become wards of the court.4 When this happens, a minor is supervised by a juvenile probation officer either within the home or in an unlocked out-of-home placement facility. Prior to the enactment of § 601, these minors could be placed in a locked juvenile hall by their parents or the police. Both before and after the enactment of the § 601 system, parents with appropriate insurance or financial resources have been able to place their children in locked psychiatric hospitals. Recently, however, hospitalization has become a burgeoning practice.5 A number of possible