Gov. Gavin Newsom meets with officials at the BACS St. Regis Center in Hayward where he announced new statewide accountability measures and funding to address homelessness and mental health care on March 2, 2026. Photo by Manuel Orbegozo for CalMatters
Gov. Gavin Newsom claimed a major victory for his signature mental health court last week, but critics say his math appears more than a little fuzzy.
Posting on X, Newsom wrote the CARE Court program “has now helped 10,000+ Californians get the lifesaving support and care they need and deserve – reaching (his administration’s) goal of 7,000 to 12,000 ‘initially served.’”
The administration’s most recent data on the program, which Newsom introduced with much fanfare in March of 2022, says CARE Court has reached just 1,470 people with treatment agreements or plans as of June. The data describes an additional 4,887 people who didn’t receive a formal CARE agreement or plan but ended up getting services outside of the program. CARE is short for Community Assistance, Recovery and Empowerment Court.
The number of people included in treatment agreements or plans continues to fall far short of the administration’s initial projections, which estimated that 7,000 to 12,000 people would qualify…
