California will launch Care Court program to get severely mentally ill people into treatment

San Francisco Chronicle / August 31, 2022

SACRAMENTO — California is poised to create a new system to get severely mentally ill people into treatment called CARE Court, which family members of people with psychotic disorders say they hope will help them save their loved ones from suffering on the streets.

California lawmakers passed the legislation to create CARE Court on Wednesday, sending it to Gov. Gavin Newsom, who sponsored the bill and is expected to sign it soon.

The measure, SB1338, will create a new way for family, community members, probation officers and others to refer people with severe mental illness into treatment. Under the system, judges would order people to participate in treatment plans and require counties to provide services to them.

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CARE (Community Assistance, Recovery and Empowerment) Court seeks to help a small but visible group of people with severe, untreated psychosis who have fallen through the cracks and are cycling among jails, hospitals and street encampments by providing another avenue for them to get long-term treatment. Newsom’s office estimates between 7,000 and 12,000 people are in the population CARE Court will address.

LINK (paywall): https://www.sfchronicle.com/politics/article/California-will-launch-Care-Court-program-to-get-17410964.php

Highlights from the full story:

• Adults with schizophrenia spectrum or other psychotic disorders can be candidates for CARE Court.

• Some opponents of the plan (including the ACLU) argue it will violate people’s civil liberties by forcing them into treatment.

• (The bill) passed the Assembly 61-2 and unanimously in the Senate.

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I've lived in San Francisco. I support this bill.