California’s new plan to help homeless individuals who need mental health treatment is set to be implemented throughout the next year in every county. The Sept. 14 bill, SB 1338, can potentially place homeless people in court-mandated mental health treatment and a forced conservatorship if there is resentment.

The governor previously announced a plan in March 2022 to help with untreated mental health and substance abuse. However, this plan had yet to be approved by the State Legislature and was still being refined. The program that the plan was suggested was to be called the Community Assistance, Recovery and Empowerment (CARE) Court.

“With overwhelming support from the Legislature and stakeholders across California, CARE Court will now become a reality in our state, offering hope and a new path forward for thousands of struggling Californians and empowering their loved ones to help,” Gov. Gavin Newsom wrote in a press release.

California State Senator Susan Talamantes Eggman (D-5) has played a large role in helping the bill become a reality through the legislative over the last few months.

“The CARE Act provides a critical new on-ramp into the behavioral health system for a population of people that are the hardest to reach,” Eggman wrote in a press release.

There are a variety of people that can start this process for someone, including social workers, police officers and family members, to petition for a specific individual to start this plan. 

To qualify for the plan, a person must be at least 18 years old, experience severe mental illness with the potential to harm themselves and or others. 

If the person doesn’t complete the plan, then they are eligible to be placed in a conservatorship where someone else makes important life decisions for them. These decisions can range from economic to medical issues for the person, giving them little control of their own life.

In response to the court, the Human Rights Watch drafted an open letter to Newsom, discussing their views on the bill. 

“CARE Court will not solve the complex issues of homelessness in California, nor will it meet the needs of unhoused people with mental health disabilities — primarily because the investment of funds is in a new court system,” the organization wrote in their letter. “Evidence shows unhoused people with mental health disabilities need community-integrated, deeply affordable, accessible housing with voluntary services.”