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California governor signs controversial law creating healthcare courts for homeless

California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the CARE Act into law outside of a San Jose, Calif., mental health treatment center on Wednesday. Photo courtesy of Office of California Gov. Gavin Newsom/Release
California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the CARE Act into law outside of a San Jose, Calif., mental health treatment center on Wednesday. Photo courtesy of Office of California Gov. Gavin Newsom/Release

Sept. 15 (UPI) -- California Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed a controversial law to establish so-called CARE courts that can order some people suffering from mental health issues and substance use disorders to submit to mental health treatment.

The Democratic governor signed the Community Assistance Recovery and Empowerment Act during a press conference at a San Jose, Calif., mental health treatment center on Wednesday, calling the law a "paradigm shift" and a "a new path forward" for thousands of homeless Californians suffering from mental health issues.

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"This problem is solvable. We know that. We don't have to fall prey to the cynicism and all the negativity that it's just too big and too hard," he said. "It's hard and it's big, but we can meet this moment and we can create many, many moments in the future to do justice to those who need us who are suffering and struggling."

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The CARE Act will permit families, clinicians, first responders and other authorized adults to petition a civil court to create a so-called CARE plan for a specific individual experiencing severe mental illness, including schizophrenia and psychotic disorders.

The court can order an individual to comply with the program for up to a year with the option to extend it another 12 months, and provides behavioral healthcare, medication, housing and other services. Those who do not comply with the court-ordered treatment plan may be referred to conservatorship.

Newsom introduced the plan in March and was overwhelmingly passed by the state legislator late last month and amid state efforts to combat issues concerning its unhoused population.

According to statistics from the U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness, as of January 2020, 161,548 people experienced homelessness in the state on any given night, representing 28% of the nation's homeless population.

It also found that California experienced the largest increase in homelessness from the year before and more than half of all unsheltered people in the country were in The Golden State.

The CARE Act includes $15.3 billion to combat homelessness, $11.6 billion for mental health services and $1.4 billion for other health and human services workforce. An additional $63 million will be provided to counties to fund the establishment of CARE courts.

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The seven counties of Glenn, Orange, Riverside, San Diego, Stanislaus, Tuolumne and San Francisco will be the first to be phased into the program on Oct. 1 of next year with all 58 counties needing to be complaint by Dec. 1, 2024.

"This is unprecedented support that we are committing to over the next few years to make this program work," Newsom said, stating the hard work begins now to get the CARE courts and infrastructure up and running.

"We say this all time: Program passing is not necessarily problem solving," he said.

The law, however, has been met with staunched opposition from disability groups and human and civil rights organizations.

Amid consideration of the bill in June, Human Rights Watch issued a lengthy letter voicing strong opposition to the plan, while urging the legislators to reject the bill for "a more holistic, rights-respecting approach to address the lack of resources for autonomy-affirming treatment options and affordable housing."

The New York-based organization said that while the Newsom administration advertises the CARE courts as an "upstream" diversion from criminal legal and conservatorship systems, the bill just creates a new avenue for government and family members to strip people of their autonomy and place them under the state's care.

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"Given the racial demographics of California's homeless population, and the historic over-diagnosing of Black and Latino people with schizophrenia, this plan is likely to place many, disproportionately Black and brown people, under state control," it said.

After Newsom signed the bill Wednesday, the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California accused the Democratic governor, who is a potential future presidential candidate, of returning the state to the days of forced treatment.

"There is nothing 'caring' about his so-called CARE Court bill," it said in a statement, saying it expects to see the law challenged in court.

"This outdated and coercive model of placing disabled folks in courtrooms will cause trauma and harm to Californians in vulnerable situations and will reinforce institutional racism."

Newsom disregarded criticisms of the plan from progression groups on Wednesday, telling reporters that their opinions are what have led to the situation the state is now in.

"Their point of view is expressed by what you see on the streets and sidewalks throughout this state," he said. "Their point of view was expressed in the halls of the legislature and they were overwhelming rejected because in a progressive legislature they said: 'Enough. We're going to move in a different direction. We could do more. We could do better. We're not here to listen to the same excuses of why we can't do something; we're going to give this an opportunity.'"

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