SAN JOSE, Calif. — Gov. Gavin Newsom signed legislation Wednesday to push some Californians with severe mental illness into treatment, kicking off what’s sure to be a long and challenging process to get the unprecedented new framework up and running across the state.
The new system, dubbed CARE Court, attempts to overhaul the state’s mental health care system by allowing courts to force treatment plans upon people in crisis. Signing the legislation marks a victory for Newsom, who dreamed up the idea and first announced it in March at Crossroads Village — a San Jose treatment facility run by Momentum for Health. On Wednesday, he returned to the same spot, surrounded by supportive legislators and local city and county officials, to sign the bill into law.
“The problem is solvable. We know that. We don’t have to fall prey to the cynicism and all the negativity that it’s just too big,” Newsom said. “It’s hard. It’s big. But we can meet this moment and we can create many, many moments in the future to do justice to those that need us and are suffering and struggling.”
