As of December 1, 2024, counties across the state, including San Luis Obispo, rolled out the CARE Act. It allows people like first responders, clinicians and loved ones to petition in a civil court for homeless individuals suffering from schizophrenia or other psychotic disorders to get access to a CARE Plan which includes behavioral health services, housing, and support.
“If somebody is not eligible for care or court, the treatment does not end there. The conversation doesn't stop," said Caroline Schmidt, SLO County Behavioral Health Public Information Officer.
California Governor Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill 1338 in 2022, which established the Community Assistance, Recovery, and Empowerment (CARE) Act. Seven counties were the first to implement the CARE Act and have already executed 100 CARE plans since October 1, 2023.
Local attorney Greg Gillett says in order to make it work here in this county, the CARE Plan needs to be tailored to each person’s needs.
“If you have one individual with a certain set of circumstances, certain diagnoses, life experiences, mental health issues, we should be dealing with that person on a targeted basis and intervene appropriately for that person," Gillett stated.
However, even though there's a civil court process, it is still up to the person whether they want to participate. The process only works if the patient is willing to receive the help they need.
“I think people think it is a forced program," Schmidt explained. "They think it is a criminal assignment or a criminal court program. It is not.”
So why get the courts involved if they don’t have to be there? Judge Craig Van Rooyen with SLO County Superior Courts explained that appearing before a judge increases their chances of following through.
“The idea is that the court's involvement can be to encourage them to provide some accountability and to hopefully have people follow through with county behavioral health who otherwise wouldn't be able to do so,” Van Rooyen explained.
Using funds that are already in place such as the state-funded $8 million in behavioral health bridge housing, a lot of what goes into these CARE Plans are programs and assistance already available to those in need. However, the qualifications for meeting the criteria of a CARE Plan are different. For full details on how you can petition and whether or not someone meets that criteria, you can visit the SLO County Behavioral Health website.
“You can see very easily where they weren't able to get assistance or where they acted against their interest without them knowing it," Gillett said. "So this might, this hopefully will close that gap.”
