The L.A. County Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to use an emergency declaration on homelessness to expedite hiring for CARE Court, a state-mandated program that aims to create new avenues for people living with a serious mental illness such as schizophrenia to get lifesaving treatment.
With L.A. County’s launch of CARE Court set for Dec. 1, some supervisors expressed concerns the county would not be ready to provide care for the estimated 4,500 people who would qualify.
Historically, the county’s Department of Mental Health has struggled to fill open positions.
Last fall, California Governor Gavin Newsom signed the Community Assistance, Recovery, and Empowerment (CARE) Act into law, which requires all counties to set up a new framework for the program.
Under CARE Court, people living with a serious, untreated mental illness could be referred for a court-ordered care plan. The court intervention could be initiated by a family member, county behavioral health workers or even first responders. If the care plan fails, the person could be hospitalized or referred to a conservatorship.
CARE Court in L.A. County will begin with one courtroom and one judge within the Superior Court in Norwalk.
At the board meeting Tuesday, Supervisor Holly Mitchell pointed out that the success of CARE Court would also be contingent on the county’s ability to build out badly needed mental health treatment beds.
“In order to meet a variety of our expectations, including CARE Court — we’re focused on setting up the court infrastructure — the point is the judge will have to have a place to send that individual,” Mitchell said.
“That’s a bed that we have to build,” Mitchell said, noting that the initial planned state funding of $15 million may not be…
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