California expanded its CARE Court program under Senate Bill 27, effective January 1, extending eligibility to include people diagnosed with bipolar disorder who experience psychosis. The court-coordinated program, which launched in 2023 under Governor Gavin Newsom, aims to revolutionize mental health treatment access by linking the courts with mental health services, substance use treatment, medications, and housing placements.
CARE Court has underperformed relative to initial projections. As of the end of October, California courts had received 3,092 CARE Court petitions, approved 684 treatment agreements, and ordered 22 CARE plans. This falls significantly short of Newsom’s administration initial estimate that between 7,000 and 12,000 Californians would qualify for the program. CalMatters investigations found that the program has struggled to help homeless participants and has not met expectations in serving vulnerable populations.
Senate Bill 27, authored by Democrat Tom Umberg of Santa Ana, addresses some gaps in the original program. Originally, only people diagnosed with schizophrenia and other limited psychotic disorders qualified. The expanded law now includes people who experience psychosis as a result of bipolar disorder. Umberg acknowledged the expansion could reach more people but cautioned he does not expect it to dramatically increase overall program numbers. County estimates vary significantly: San Diego, for example, estimated the change could expand its CARE Court services by anywhere between 3.5% and 48.1%.
The law also streamlines the process in other ways. It consolidates two early court hearings into one to reduce the time participants spend in court and lower administrative costs. Additionally, the criminal justice system can now refer people directly into CARE Court if they are charged with a crime and deemed incompetent to stand trial. These changes attempt to reduce logistical barriers and expand access to court-coordinated mental health and substance use services.
This article is an AI-assisted summary. All facts and figures are drawn from the original report: https://calmatters.org/housing/homelessness/2025/12/care-court-sb-27-new-law/