California's controversial CARE Court set to launch in Alameda County
Alameda County is getting ready to launch a special court aimed at getting unhoused mentally ill people off the streets.
Starting Dec. 2, Alameda County Superior Court and Alameda County Health's Behavioral Health Department (ACBHD) will launch the county's Community Assistance, Recovery and Empowerment (CARE) Act Court.
This is a civil court process aimed at connecting individuals suffering from specific mental health diagnoses and substance use disorders with support services.
The goal is to provide a personalized care plan that prioritizes treatment, housing, and a path towards recovery. This is a voluntary step for people with the aim of getting help before they get involved with the criminal legal system, are committed to a state hospital, or end up in conservatorship.
An individual can file a petition for CARE Court. The process also allows for family members, first responders, certain health professionals, and even city mayors, to file a petition.
Here is the eligibility criteria:
- 18 years of age or older
- Diagnosed with schizophrenia or other associated psychotic disorders and currently experiencing symptoms
- Not clinically stabilized in ongoing treatment
- The individual's mental health is substantially deteriorating, and they are unlikely to survive safely in the community without supervision AND/OR need services and support to prevent relapse and deterioration
- Participation in a CARE Plan is the least restrictive alternative and the individual is likely to benefit from participation in a CARE Plan
- Defendant in a pending criminal action meeting the criteria above
Alameda County Superior Court Judge Sandra Bean will be presiding over the CARE Act Court.
"What I'm looking forward to is really working with a segment of the population that is often avoided and often forgotten," Bean said. "It's heartbreaking. What I'm looking forward to is being able to, in any small way, help their lives."
Over the course of the last year, Bean and others involved with the process have traveled to several counties in the state that have previously launched CARE Court so they could get a roadmap of how to get it running successfully. She's met with judges, attorneys, and other players involved – has observed proceedings – and has asked a lot of questions.
"What I came away with from all of the counties is that you have to work together – it has to be a collaborative court. You have to really know who you're working with, trust the people you're working with, and really pull together. That's what I learned," she said. "We had spent a lot of time thinking about whether we needed to have a mobile court to go out into the community to try and see people where they were. Other counties had thought about that, I think Riverside actually had a van, but that seems to not be true."
Juan Taizan, the Director of Forensic Diversion and Reentry System of Care for the ACBHD, says they've learned a lot through the process.
"We've taken a lot of what they've learned – which includes how to develop some of our assessments, what our templates should look like, really, how to partner with the court and public defenders early on. The design of the court, what the court should feel like, what it should look like, and how we maintain ongoing communication with our partners throughout the court process," he said. "Collaboration, making sure we're building a robust outreach and engagement team, as well as a dedicated treatment team."
Taizan says there is a great need for this in Alameda County.
"It is another avenue for our clients to find their way into treatment," he said. "I do believe we will maximize the services that we've set aside for CARE Court. I do think the need is there."
While that may be the case, turnout in other counties that first implemented CARE Court, like San Francisco, has been considerably low. There have been 47 petitions filed in San Francisco, per a spokesperson for the Superior Court.
A spokesperson for the San Francisco Department of Public Health provided CBS News Bay Area with the following statement:
"With ongoing reforms to mental health laws, we work to leverage programs or policies that best suit the needs of an individual. Whether it is CARE Court, behavioral health court, conservatorship, or other programs, SFDPH, the courts and the City are working to find the best path forward for individuals based on needs and resources. CARE Court is one of many interventions to support people with untreated mental health and substance disorders.
CARE Courts allow for broad range of petitioners, such as family members, behavioral health providers, conservator office, and misdemeanor diversion court. However, the criteria for CARE Court are narrow, specifically, people must be experiencing severe mental illness and has a diagnosis in the schizophrenia spectrum and other psychotic disorder class, as well as be a resident of San Francisco, among others.
Families who want to access the CARE Courts would file a petition with the court. CARE Court is intended to be upstream from other solutions including conservatorship or assistance outpatient treatment (also known as Laura's Law). Petitions filed need to show that CARE would be the least restrictive alternative to ensure the person's recovery and stability. As of September, of all petitions, 60% of people in which the case was dismissed engaged in voluntary services. Of cases where SFDPH received a consultation, 40% did not meet criteria because the individual was already participating in treatment."
A spokesperson for Governor Newsom's Office provided CBS News Bay Area with the following statement:
"With CARE Courts set to open statewide on December 2, California is taking a historic step forward in addressing the needs of our most seriously ill residents. This milestone brings new hope and determination as we work together to ensure people get the treatment and care they deserve. With implementation comes stronger accountability tools at the county level, empowering communities to make sure loved ones and people in need are no longer overlooked or left behind — no longer cycling through the streets, emergency rooms, and jails.
"The early successes of CARE Court show steady progress toward connecting more people with life-changing and life-saving care. While change is not always fast, this first-in-the-nation program is designed to disrupt the status quo, and we're seeing early promising results. By focusing on thoughtful implementation, the state is ensuring that more Californians with serious mental illness can stabilize, recover, and thrive — transforming lives and communities for the better.
Family members and roommates have been the primary source of petitions for CARE Court, per the Governor's Office.
Ahead of the rollout, Taizan is optimistic, and says people in Alameda County have been asking about how to get involved with the process for quite a while.
"More from family members who are eager to get their loved ones into CARE Court, into treatment that they think they really need and deserve," he said. "The idea is to use the civil court process as a way to engage these community members into treatment where they otherwise would not have been engaged before, may not have remained engaged, or may not have been connected to services that were meeting their true treatment needs."
Bean also believes there is a true need for another avenue of support for individuals in Alameda County.
"I think Alameda County has a fairly large number of people who could benefit from this. I think it is needed. I think it's not the solution for everything – I think there is certainly more that is needed," she said.
Alameda County will officially begin taking e-filings for CARE Court on Nov. 28, and in-person filings on Dec. 2. Additional information on Alameda County's CARE Court is available online.
