The California Supreme Court April 19 shot down disability rights activists’ request to halt the implementation of Gov. Gavin Newsom’s law providing treatment for individuals with severe mental illness through a court order, known as the Community Assistance, Recovery, and Empowerment (CARE) Court. The group, Disability Rights California—which advocates for those with disabilities in the…

Gov. Gavin Newsom signed the Community Assistance, Recovery, and Empowerment (CARE) Act into law Sept. 14, creating California’s first court-mandated mental health and substance abuse treatment program for those with severe mental illness or drug addiction. “With folks that are struggling with [being on the] schizophrenia spectrum, with psychosis disorders, they need help, they need…

SACRAMENTO—Gov. Gavin Newsom’s radical plan to address the state’s worsening homelessness problem—by forcing some individuals with mental illnesses into medical treatment—made it through an Assembly committee this week, raking in bipartisan support. Authored by Senator Thomas Umberg (D-Santa Ana) and Senator Susan Talamantes Eggman (D-Stockton), the bill passed the Assembly Health Committee in a 14–0…

SACRAMENTO—California’s plan to push some homeless suffering from mental illness into court-ordered care moved forward April 26 following a unanimous vote in a Senate committee hearing. “We have been investing billions and billions and billions of dollars into our mental health system [and] into our homelessness system,” bill co-author Sen. Susan Eggman (D-Stockton) said during…

SACRAMENTO— A group of Republican lawmakers introduced more than a dozen bills to combat California’s worsening homeless crisis March 16, a problem they say the state’s Democrats have inadequately addressed as billions of taxpayer dollars have been spent and the homeless population continues to grow. Assembly Republican Leader James Gallagher (R-Yuba City), Assemblywoman Suzette Martinez…

SACRAMENTO—California Gov. Gavin Newsom unveiled a new proposal last week to force some homeless suffering from drug addiction and mental illnesses into substance abuse treatment amid sprawling encampments and homeless on the streets. But the move has become a buzzing conversation among homeless activists, residents, and providers alike. Amid a wave of progressive reforms across…