California’s Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a new law on Wednesday that provides a path for individuals struggling with untreated severe mental illnesses to receive care.
The Community, Assistance, Recovery, and Empowerment Act, also known as Senate Bill 1338, allows family members, first responders, and others to ask a judge to draft a treatment plan for individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia spectrum and other psychotic disorders.
While supporters of the bill authored by Sen.Thomas Umberg (D-Santa Ana) and Sen.Susan Talamantes Eggman (D-Stockton) say it “represents a thoughtful approach to addressing the behavioral health crisis", opponents say it is “fiscally irresponsible, as well as inhumane”.
CARE court provides individuals with community-based and court-ordered Care plans consisting of culturally and linguistically competent county mental health and substance use disorder treatment services, according to Newsom's office. Plans can range between 12-24 months and people enrolled in the program can receive short-term stabilization medications, wellness and recovery supports, social services, and housing.
According to Newsom’s office, CARE Court will be implemented statewide and will start with a Phased-in approach. The first cohort to implement CARE Court includes the counties of Glenn, Orange, Riverside, San Diego, Stanislaus, Tuolumne, and San Francisco by Oct. 1, 2023, and the remaining counties in the state by Dec. 1, 2024.
“The CARE Act recognizes that to serve those with the most complex behavioral health conditions, we must do the hard work of prioritizing those who need help the most, providing a comprehensive CARE plan that honors self-determination to the greatest extent possible, and holding ourselves accountable to delivering services and housing that are key to long term stability and recovery,” said Secretary of the California Health & Human Services Agency, Dr. Mark Ghaly.
The program is not exclusively for homeless people. It applies to people who have a severe mental illness and only if they are unlikely to survive safely in the community without supervision, or are a harm to themselves or others.
Individuals struggling with alcohol or opioid addiction will not qualify unless they have a diagnosed psychiatric disorder.
The Newsom Administration estimates the program can help 7,000 to 12,000 people per year.
Visit California’s Health and Human Services Agency webpage for more information about CARE Act.
