California governor OKs mental health courts for homeless

SAN FRANCISCO — With more than 100,000 people living on California’s streets, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a first-of-its kind law on Wednesday that could force some of them into treatment as part of a program he describes as “care” but opponents argue is cruel.

Newsom signed the Community Assistance, Recovery and Empowerment Act on Wednesday. It would let family members, first responders and others ask a judge to draw up a treatment plan for someone diagnosed with certain disorders, including schizophrenia. Those who refuse could be placed under a conservatorship and ordered to comply.

Right now, homeless people with severe mental health disorders bounce from the streets to jails and hospitals. They can be held against their will at a psychiatric hospital for up to three days. But they must be released if they promise to take medication and follow up with other services.

The new law would let a court order a treatment plan for up to one year, which could be extended for a second year. The plan could include medication, housing and therapy. While it shares some elements of programs in other states, the system would be the first of its kind in the country, according to the office of Democratic state Sen. Tom Umberg, a co-author of the law.

For decades, California has mostly treated homelessness as a local problem, funneling billions of dollars to city and county governments each year for various treatment programs. But despite all of that spending, homelessness remains one of the state’s most pressing and visible issues.

“Continue to do what you’ve done and you get what you got. And look what we’ve got. It’s unacceptable,” Newsom said Wednesday before signing the law. “This (law) has been architected completely differently than anything you’ve seen in the state of California, arguably in the last century.”

In a year when Newsom is on his way to a shoo-in reelection bid with speculation building about his future presidential aspirations, this new program prompted criticism from both sides of the political spectrum, with some on the left arguing it goes too far while others on the right saying it does not go far enough. Some progressives have spoken out against Newsom blocking certain priorities, including vetoing a bill that would have authorized supervised safe-injection sites for drug users and opposing a new tax on millionaires that would pay for more electric cars.

Newsom signed the law over the strong objections of the American Civil…