Failure to participate in “any component” of the plan could result in additional hearings and court actions, including conservatorship.
Newsom and other supporters of the concept have framed it as a humane effort to help vulnerable Californians who might otherwise languish on the streets or in jails. But civil rights groups have opposed the law since its inception, arguing it could strip people of their rights and worsen their mental health. New York City Mayor Eric Adams has faced similar challenges following his directive last year to compel psychiatric evaluations of some residents.
The coalition of groups who filed the petition in California described the program as expanding “an already problematic system into a framework of coerced, court-ordered mental health treatment.”
They say the program wrongfully subjects Californians to involuntary treatment and fails to get at the root of the problem, such as the lack of affordable housing.
“The CARE Act unnecessarily involves our court systems to force medical care and social services on people. We are opposed to this new system of coercion,” said Helen Tran, a senior attorney at the Western Center on Law and Poverty. “The state’s resources should, instead, be directed at creating more affordable, permanent supportive housing and expanding our systems of care to allow everyone who needs help to quickly access them.”
