what is care court

CARE Court is a new civil court process created by California Governor Gavin Newsom as part of a push to address the homelessness crisis in California. It is an alternative mental health court program designed to fast-track people with untreated schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders into treatment. The program connects people in crisis with a court-ordered treatment plan for up to two years, while diverting them from possible incarceration, homelessness, or restrictive court-ordered conservatorship. CARE Court is for individuals diagnosed with schizophrenia spectrum disorder or other psychotic ailments in that class, as defined by the program. The program is voluntary, but some critics argue that it is compulsory by the very fact it puts people through the judicial system, where they cant exactly refuse to comply with a judge or the CARE Court process if found to be eligible. The CARE program is also a nationally recognized reentry court program in the District of Massachusetts.