California aims to aid its homeless and mentally ill population with involuntary treatment through CARE Court. Only individuals with schizophrenia spectrum and psychotic disorders are eligible for CARE Court services. It is estimated that more than 170,000 individuals are homeless in California and that one in four of them has a serious mental illness. This is due to a lack of affordable housing and the state’s failure to provide necessary mental health care.
Governor Newsom is hoping to change these statistics with his 14-billion-dollar investment in a system that will bring mental health into the courtroom. Judges will be able to order people to get help and counties to provide it under the Community Assistance Recovery and Empowerment (CARE) Court initiative. Newsom believes that the new civil court design will help thousands of people get off the streets and begin to live their lives with the mental health support they need