Register below to join us in-person or on Zoom for a discussion of Alex V. Barnard’s new book, Conservatorship: Inside California’s System of Coercion and Care for Mental Illness. The book analyzes conservatorship, a legal system used to take legal guardianship over individuals deemed unable to meet their own basic needs. This controversial system, which has come under fire from civil liberties and disability rights groups, is at the center of state policies for mental illness, homelessness, and addiction. Through interviews with policy makers, professionals, families, and conservatees, Barnard shows how the system operates, and its many shortcomings. 

At this California Spotlight event, Professor Barnard will be joined by Lauren Rettagliata, whose comments on her lived experience of the system will complement his discussion of his research. The discussion will be moderated by Jonathan Simon, Lance Robbins Professor of Criminal Justice Law at Berkeley Law.

Co-sponsored by the UC Berkeley Institute for the Study of Societal Issues (ISSI), Department of Sociology, and the Center for the Study of Law and Society.

Time/Date: 12:00pm, March 18, 2024

Location: Social Science Matrix, 820 Social Sciences Building, UC Berkeley