California tweaks CARE Court with modest reforms as bigger changes stall

Governor Gavin Newsom approved two modest reforms to California’s CARE Court, a mental-health court launched in 2023 to move severely ill individuals from the streets into treatment. The bills, introduced by Senators Catherine Blakespear and Steven Choi, enable first responders such as firefighters to refer people directly to counties, which then have 30 days to decide on filing a petition, and they allow family members who file petitions to submit information about the participant’s whereabouts or condition without receiving reciprocal updates.

Larger measures, including SB 1016 and SB 28 that would have tied CARE Court to involuntary conservatorships, died in the Assembly Appropriations Committee amid opposition from groups like Disability Rights California and the California Public Defenders Association, who warned against coercive treatment. A prior version of one bill, SB 1242, was also softened after activist input. State data up to June 2025 reveal only 517 of 2,216 petitions resulted in CARE agreements, highlighting the program’s under-utilization. Lawmakers plan to revisit the conservatorship link next session, acknowledging the difficulty of achieving broader reforms in Sacramento’s legislative process.