Newsom placed Santa Clara County on a \u201cCARE ICU<\/a>\u201d list to receive extra help, along with San Francisco and Los Angeles counties. Alameda County, one of the 10 counties on the \u201cCARE Champions\u201d list, filed 208 petitions<\/a> last year.<\/p>\n \u201cThere are a number of counties that get it and are getting things done, proving it can be done when you have leadership that cares enough to get it done,\u201d Newsom said at the news conference<\/a>. \u201cI\u2019m just not interested in funding failure now \u2026 there\u2019s a lot of power in LA County, Riverside County, Santa Clara County, some of the counties we are calling out. But with respect, I\u2019m happy to sweep every damn dollar and redirect it to folks up in Humboldt, in Alameda.\u201d<\/p>\n Mental health advocate Andrew Siegler said Santa Clara County\u2019s approach to mental health is more holistic than the governor\u2019s agenda.<\/p>\n \u201cSince when did Gavin Newsom have any experience in the mental health industry?\u201d Siegler told San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight. \u201cThe county has built hundreds of (treatment) beds for people, (and provided funding) for non-law enforcement crisis response<\/a>. (CARE Court is) not the only thing that matters, and it shouldn\u2019t be the only thing any county is doing.\u201d<\/p>\n Providing services<\/p>\n Although the number of CARE Court petitions may be low, county officials said it\u2019s not reflective of how many people have been connected to voluntary treatment. Through referrals, the county sends a clinical outreach team to make contact with people struggling with schizophrenia or other psychotic disorders at homes or on the streets. By building relationships with these individuals, community health workers have connected 66 people to treatment without needing to go through the CARE Court process since its implementation in December 2024.<\/p>\n \u201cThe number of petitions filed isn\u2019t the only indicator of our progress, our efforts and the number of people who are getting help,\u201d Deputy County Executive Ky Le, who oversees the Behavioral Health Services Department, told San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight.<\/p>\n Since 2022 when the Board of Supervisors declared a mental health emergency,<\/a> the county has ramped up preventive services by implementing more residential treatment facilities<\/a>, adding a behavior health navigator program<\/a>, launching a police alternative with a mental health mobile crisis program known as TRUST<\/a>, implementing an assisted outpatient (AOT) program<\/a> \u2014 a court-ordered psychiatric treatment program \u2014 and other proactive efforts.<\/p>\n Soo Jung, behavioral health department director who helped bring the AOT program online, said outreach builds more trust with individuals and helps them be more willing to engage in services.<\/p>\n \u201cWhen the staff are going out, whether it is someone\u2019s home or on the streets, they will also ask, \u2018What do you need?\u2019 And it will oftentimes help them to open up,\u201d Jung told San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight. \u201cWe also find that actually produces better outcomes when somebody is willingly and voluntarily engaging with services rather than having to go through the court process.\u201d<\/p>\n CARE Court expands<\/p>\n Newsom signed the California Community Assistance, Recovery, and Empowerment (CARE) Act<\/a>, which established CARE court, into law in 2022 and it took effect statewide by Dec. 1, 2024. In order to qualify for the program, individuals need to be at least 18 years old, have a diagnosis of schizophrenia or other psychotic disorder and need supervision in order to function in society.<\/p>\n Recently, the state expanded the program with Senate Bill 27<\/a> \u2014 effective Jan.1\u00a0 \u2014 to include individuals diagnosed with bipolar I disorder with psychosis. A spokesperson for the Santa Clara County Superior Court said they expect to see an increase of petitions filed.<\/p>\n \u201cBased on the first two months of 2026, we may expect to see as many as 80 petitions this year, almost twice the number of petitions filed in 2025,\u201d court spokesperson Jessica Kellogg told San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight.<\/p>\n Jim Beall, a Valley Water board director who championed the expansion of mental health services during his time as a former county supervisor and state senator, said the county has a robust system that provides wraparound services.<\/p>\n The county\u00a0has multiple specialty courts serving different populations, including a behavioral health and drug court<\/a> that pairs close judicial oversight with intensive supervision and treatment in lieu of jail.<\/p>\n \u201cYou don\u2019t see a lot of initial clients going into the CARE Court, because I think they\u2019re already in the other courts,\u201d Beall told San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight.\u00a0 \u201cWe were the first (to create the behavioral health court)\u00a0 and other counties have followed us. (Newsom) doesn\u2019t understand that we already have a multitude of different types of specialty courts.\u201d<\/p>\n County Executive James Williams said if Newsom is serious about helping counties accelerate the work, the governor\u00a0needs to provide more sustained funding in a time when counties are facing multibillion-dollar deficits due to federal cuts<\/a>.<\/p>\n \u201cProgress will only be accelerated by working together to close those funding gaps and expand proven local solutions, not by reducing a complex system to a single scorecard,\u201d Williams told San Jos\u00e9 Spotlight. \u201cThe county of Santa Clara will continue to focus on what matters most: getting people the right help at the right time, whether through CARE Court or through the robust, community-based behavioral health system that is already serving thousands of residents every year. We know our communities. We know what works. And we will keep delivering results.\u201d<\/p>\n![\"Keep](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/1769027829_854_interactive-184632509590.png\")
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