Is Newsom’s CARE Court living up to his promises?

Seven years ago, Gov. Gavin Newsom told Californians he wanted to be known for “audacious stretch goals” rather than being too timid. 

His mental health overhaul counts as one of those, from changes that expanded coverage for mental health conditions to last year’s Proposition 1, the ballot measure that poured $6.4 billion into new mental health housing.

A team of CalMatters reporters this week published a deep look into one of the key components of Newsom’s mental health strategy: CARE Court, a program intended to help seriously ill Californians living on the streets. 

They found the program has treated only a small fraction of eligible patients — as in hundreds of people rather than the thousands Newsom projected.

• Tanya Fedak, whose son cycles between homelessness and jail despite being accepted into CARE Court: “These are our loved ones. It’s our taxpayers’ money. There’s no accountability. And it’s frustrating to see it go down, because my son is going to end up dead.” 

After requesting data from all of California’s 58 counties (though four did not respond) and conducting more than 30 interviews, CalMatters found that, among other things:

• San Diego County received 384 petitions and established 134 voluntary agreements in the first two years. The county anticipated receiving 1,000 petitions and establishing court-ordered treatment plans for 250 people in the first year.

• Los Angeles County received 511 petitions (the most in the state) and established 112 treatment agreements or plans. In 2023, county officials predicted the county could enroll 4,500 people in the first year.

Courts also dismissed a large portion of petitions — about 45% statewide. And while only 14 treatment plans have been ordered so far, counties mostly offer voluntary treatment agreements — which people are free to ignore. 

Why the slow progress? 

State officials say CARE Court is a complicated program, which requires more time to hit the goals set by the Newsom administration. But there are other reasons too: Petitions can be rejected due to narrow eligibility criteria; it can be difficult to follow up with an unhoused person; and even with a judge’s order, it can be hard to force a client to accept services after they have already refused.

Read more to find out how well the program is faring in your county. Or if you’re short on time, check out our main takeaways.

Delivering a blow to President Donald Trump, a federal judge ruled Tuesday that the president acted illegally when he deployed the military in L.A. in June, writes CalMatters’ Mikhail Zinshteyn.

The order came down amid Trump’s current deployment of the National Guard in Washington, D.C., as well as his threats to send troops to other cities including Oakland, Chicago and New York.

Oakland Mayor Barbara Lee called the ruling “encouraging.”

• Lee, in an email to CalMatters: “We understand this doesn’t eliminate the threat of federal overreach. Oakland remains prepared and vigilant in our commitment to protecting our residents.”

In a 52-page opinion, Judge Charles Breyer of the U.S. District Court of Northern California wrote that while there were protests in L.A., “there was no rebellion, nor was civilian law enforcement unable to respond to the protests and enforce the law.”

Effective Sept. 12, the judge also blocked the Trump administration from using the military to carry out “arrests … crowd control, riot control” and other activities until the administration can present a valid legal exception. 

Bill Essayli, a prosecutor for the U.S. Department of Justice, said on social media that Breyer’s ruling is “a misleading injunction” and that the military will remain in L.A.

Read more here.

As Gov. Newsom launches a new task force to clear homeless encampments, California cities are focusing on another target: RVs parked on the street and the people who live in them, writes CalMatters’ Marisa Kendall.

In cities including San Jose, San Francisco and San Diego, police use parking ordinances to tow or threaten to tow vehicles in order to sweep vehicle encampments. Last month, San Jose began clearing its largest encampment in Columbus Park, where hundreds of people had been sleeping in cars, RVs and tents.

Homelessness advocates fear that towing these vehicles will worsen the crisis. Owners often can’t afford to pay the towing or storage fees, and could end up on the streets once their vehicles are taken away.

But local officials and some legislators say vehicle encampments attract crime, waste and other public safety hazards. One bill the Legislature is currently considering, which advanced out of the Senate’s appropriations committee last week, would make it easier for certain cities to dispose of RVs parked on their streets. 

Read more here.

A federal judge in August directed the Trump administration to restore a portion of suspended UCLA research grants worth a total of $584 million. CalMatters’ Mikhail and Robert Meeks have a video segment on the dispute over the grants as part of our partnership with PBS SoCal. Watch it here.

SoCalMatters airs at 5:58 p.m. weekdays on PBS SoCal.