A program that aimed to bring thousands of Angelenos living with serious mental illness under court-led care remains far below initial participation projections, a review of county data shows.<\/p>\n
LAist reported earlier this year that participation in the CARE Court program in Los Angeles County was relatively low \u2014 a little more than 380 petitions more than a year after its launch.<\/p>\n
Now that the program has hit the two-year mark, there have been roughly 700 local petitions filed with the court, according to officials. That\u2019s in a region where there thousands of people are estimated to be living with severe mental illness. And it’s about 18% of the number the state projected for CARE Court\u2019s first two years.<\/p>\n
As of late November, six participants in L.A. County graduated from the program, according to data from the L.A. County Department of Mental Health.<\/p>\n
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Sergio Tapia, presiding judge of the Superior Court of L.A. County, said that number represented a kind of success.<\/p>\n
\u201cDid it meet the unrealistic expectations that were set up before CARE Court opened? Obviously it didn\u2019t meet those expectations,\u201d Tapia told LAist. \u201cBut I think those expectations were not realistic.\u201d<\/p>\n
He said it took up to six months just to get the first participants into the program.<\/p>\n
But the low numbers and other concerns have caused some advocates for people with mental health diagnoses to doubt the program is viable.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe program is not working,\u201d said Monica Porter Gilbert, associate director and senior counsel of public policy at Disability Rights California.<\/p>\n
She told LAist state data show that about half of participants statewide last year did not receive at least one of the services ordered for them, including therapy. (Tapia said he was not aware of any shortfalls in carrying out the CARE Court plans in L.A. County.)<\/p>\n
Porter Gilbert also said she\u2019s concerned about the expense.<\/p>\n
An analysis from the state Assembly Committee on the Judiciary on CARE Court found that the cost per participant statewide during fiscal year 2023-24 was $713,000.<\/p>\n
L.A. County officials working with CARE Court say the numbers are low because the work takes time, in some cases months just to locate people who may be unhoused.<\/p>\n
And some state authorities agree.<\/p>\n
Anne Hadreas, supervising attorney with Judicial Council of California, which organizes training programs for judges, said those who have started the program are making progress.<\/p>\n
\u201cMaybe the numbers aren\u2019t what people expected, but there\u2019s still been a lot of successes there,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n
How it\u2019s supposed to work\u00a0<\/p>\n
CARE Court<\/a> allows family members, behavioral health workers, first responders and others to ask a court \u2014 by way of a petition \u2014 to step in with a voluntary care agreement for someone living with serious mental illness, like schizophrenia. If the agreement fails, a judge could order the individual to sign on to a treatment plan.<\/p>\n Between Dec. 1, 2023, and mid-December of this year, there were about 700 petitions filed in L.A. County, far below the roughly 3,800 state officials projected for the first two years of the program.<\/p>\n San Diego County, the second most populous in the state, received 445 petitions between October 2023 and November of this year. Orange County, the third most populous, received 206 petitions, according to our media partner CalMatters. <\/p>\n As of October, statewide data for the first two years of the program show that courts throughout California had received a total of 3,092 petitions, according to CalMatters<\/a>. That\u2019s still about 700 petitions short of what was expected just for L.A. County.<\/p>\n Martin Jones, a program manager with the county Department of Mental Health, said the six local graduations don\u2019t tell the whole story. At least another 16 participants chose to stay in the program for an additional year.<\/p>\n Jones noted one recent CARE Court graduate who was subsequently able to get an apartment and a job.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen you think about the impact on the individual \u2014 on their family, on their loved ones, on the community \u2014 the success is multiplied probably many times over,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n But Porter Gilbert said family members of some CARE Court participants have told her they were sold false hope.<\/p>\n \u201cBecause many believed that their loved ones would finally get connected with meaningful services,\u201d she said. \u201cAnd instead they\u2019re getting court dates that don\u2019t lead to immediate housing or recovery-oriented clinical care.\u201d<\/p>\n