Care Courts: California focuses on mental illness to reduce homelessness
Last month, California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law legislation that he described as “transformative” – a new path forward to help people diagnosed with severe mental health and substance abuse disorders, thousands of whom live on the streets. As a sign of the urgent need, the bill passed with only two state lawmakers opposed.
The law creates Care Courts, civil courts that will allow a broad array of interested parties to petition a judge to order treatment. It is meant to reach people with the most serious mental illnesses who don’t have access to care or don’t think they need it, as well as to break the cycle of people shuffling in and out of crisis treatment and jails, which have become America’s de facto mental health institutions. The law’s many supporters hope it will divert people to treatment before they lose their legal autonomy in conservatorship or wind up in jail.
Though the law is touted by the governor’s office as a “first-in-the-nation” framework, behavioral health experts say that the Community Assistance, Recovery, and Empowerment
