Newsom signs bill package to support mental health CARE courts

California Gov. Gavin Newsom on Friday signed a package of legislation meant to strengthen mental health and substance abuse care.

The nearly 20 bills include one, SB 42, authored by Sen. Tom Umberg (D-Santa Ana), that streamlines county and court implementation of the Community Assistance, Recovery, and Empowerment Act, otherwise known as “CARE.” The CARE Act was passed last year.

CARE courts in nine counties have helped more than 700 people with untreated schizophrenia spectrum or psychotic disorders get treatment and housing since the program launched last year, according to the governor’s office. All counties will start offering “CARE Courts” by December, which allows families to petition a court to put their loved ones with severe mental illness in a mental health treatment facility.

Another measure, SB 1238, authored by Sen. Susan Talamantes Eggman (D-Stockton), expands the types of facilities where people who are held on a temporary conservatorship for substance abuse can be placed. This will include mental health rehabilitation centers and psychiatric health facilities.

SB 1400, authored by Sen. Henry Stern (D-Calabasas), increases transparency around how the CARE Act is used by requiring annual reporting to the state. It also requires that a “misdemeanor incompetent to stand trial” hearing first determine if the person is eligible for programs or treatment before dismissing a case.

“This law will prevent thousands of severely mentally ill people who are arrested from simply being recycled from jail back into the streets,” Stern said in a statement. “This is a problem that must be remedied with front-loaded mental health care.”

Another bill, AB 2376, authored by Assemblymember Dr. Jasmeet Bains (D-Bakersfield), increases the number of hospital beds used to treat people with substance use disorders by giving facilities flexibility in managing their treatment slots.

Here are more approved bills in the package, according to the governor’s office.

• AB 1316, authored by Assemblymember Jacqui Irwin (D-Thousand Oaks) | Emergency services: psychiatric emergency medical conditions.
• AB 1842, authored by Assemblymember Eloise Gómez Reyes (D-San Bernardino)| Health care coverage: medication-assisted treatment.
• AB 2115, authored by Assemblymember Matt Haney (D-San Francisco) | Controlled substances: clinics.
• AB 2154, authored by Assemblymember Marc Berman (D-Palo Alto) | Mental health: involuntary treatment.
• AB 2270, authored by Assemblymember Brian Maienschein (D-San Diego) | Healing arts: continuing education: menopausal mental or physical health.
• AB 2703, authored by Cecilia Aguiar-Curry (D-Winters) | Federally qualified health centers and rural health clinics: psychological associates.
• AB 2871, authored by Assemblymember Brian Maienschein (D-San Diego) | Overdose fatality review teams.
• SB 910, authored by Sen. Tom Umberg (D-Santa Ana) | Treatment court program standards.
• SB 1063, authored by Sen. Shannon Grove (R-Bakersfield) | Pupil safety: identification cards.
• SB 1184, authored by Sen. Susan Talamantes Eggman (D-Stockton) | Mental health: involuntary treatment: antipsychotic medication.
• SB 1318, authored by Sen. Aisha Wahab (D-Fremont) | Pupil health: suicide prevention policies: pupil suicide crisis.
• SB 1323, authored by Sen. Caroline Menjivar (D-Van Nuys) | Criminal procedure: competence to stand trial.

–KCRA 3’s Daniel Macht contributed to this story.