SAN DIEGO — San Diego County leaders previewed the rollout of the new Community Assistance, Recovery and Empowerment Act, also known as the CARE Act. The program is intended to help those individuals with untreated mental health and substance abuse issues.
A news conference was held at the County Administration Building on Wednesday morning.
San Diego is one of the first counties in the state to roll out the program. County leaders said it's another tool to help tackle mental illness.
In order to qualify, you must be 18 years old and diagnosed with schizophrenia or other related mental illnesses.
County leaders made it clear, this is not a fix for the homelessness crisis.
"This is not a magical remedy to this longstanding problem," said Dr. Luke Bergmann, Director of County Behavioral Health Services. "This program has a very specific focus. We see it as a tool that sits alongside many other tools that we have been using as complements with it, to address the needs of people with serious mental illness and behavioral health conditions generally."
This plan could include behavioral health treatments with medication and a housing plan. While normally voluntary, people can refuse the program if they want.
"CARE Court is about meeting people where they are and acting with compassion to support the thousands of Californians living on our streets with severe mental health and substance use disorders," Gov. Gavin Newsom said in 2022. "We are taking action to break the pattern that leaves people without hope and cycling repeatedly through homelessness and incarceration. This is a new approach to stabilize people with the hardest-to-treat behavioral health conditions."
Starting October 1, a family member, friend, first responder, clinician, or law enforcement can file a petition to enroll someone in the CARE Act Program. Petitions can be submitted at courthouses in Vista, El Cajon, the South Bay, or downtown. All hearings will be held at the Central Courthouse downtown.
A judge will review that petition. If it qualifies, the county will spend 2 weeks investigating the case and meeting with the respondent in an effort to engage with that person. A public defender will be appointed to represent the respondent. If the respondent is deemed eligible to take part in the program, a CARE plan will be laid out, which includes treatment, housing, and support services.
The county estimates it will receive about 1,000 petitions during its first year. However, only about a quarter to a third will actually qualify.
The county said this is a voluntary program, this is not forcing people into treatment or a path to conservatorship.
"The program is voluntary, the case plan is voluntary," said Judge Kimberlee Lagotta, the supervising judge overseeing CARE Court hearings. "It's our job as part of the court team to engage and encourage involvement."
If approved for the program, treatment would last for a year, with the possibility of it being extended to a second year.
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