California says 6,531 petitions have been filed under its CARE Court mental health law

California's CARE Act has drawn 6,531 petitions across 56 counties, Governor Gavin Newsom's office said on November 9. The law lets family members, clinicians, first responders and others ask a civil court to connect people with untreated schizophrenia and related disorders to treatment, medication and housing. According to the announcement, 11,912 Californians have been linked to service providers through CARE since the program took effect statewide in December 2024.

The office also said almost 1,800 people now have a CARE agreement or plan, "a more than 250% growth in one year," and that more than 5,381 people were linked to treatment without going through the formal process. The announcement does not say what date its figures run to.

How the numbers have grown

The November petition count is 1,047 higher than the total through June 2026 in the August update from the California Health and Human Services Agency (CalHHS), by our arithmetic, though the two may not cover the same period. The August update counts from October 2023, when the first counties began; the March and November announcements tie their figures to the statewide rollout in December 2024.

What the results show, and when they were measured

The announcement also listed results. It said 53% of participants were in housing when they were petitioned and 71% in the latest reporting month, and that nearly half of those who arrived unhoused had since found shelter or housing. Mental health service use went from 77% to 87% and stabilizing medication use from 47% to 61%, it said. By our comparison, the same figures appear in CalHHS's August update, which attributes them to the state's 2026 CARE Act Annual Report, covering October 2023 to June 2025; the service figures track participants' first five months.

CalHHS cautions that, because implementation is ongoing, "results should be interpreted as preliminary indicators of program performance rather than definitive long-term impact measures." The annual report is separate from the law's independent evaluation, whose preliminary report is due to the Legislature by December 31, 2026, with a final report by December 31, 2028.

The data also show how rarely judges impose plans. Through June 2026, CalHHS counted 1,414 voluntary agreements and 56 court-ordered plans, and it describes the law as working mainly as a pathway to voluntary engagement "rather than court compulsion." System partners such as hospitals, treating clinicians and public guardians filed 61% of petitions in June 2025, up from 25% in December 2023, and their petitions are more likely to end in an agreement or plan, the update says.

What opponents say

Disability Rights California, the federally designated advocate for Californians with disabilities, has opposed the program. In a statement on October 10, 2025, the day it said the governor signed SB 27, a bill it says widens eligibility for CARE and referrals to it, the group called CARE "an incredibly expensive court program" that "orders people into services without increasing access to them." It said participants are put on the same waiting lists for services as people seeking help on their own, and it called for housing and community-based mental health services instead. Seven other organizations are named on the statement, which was issued before the state's August 2026 update.

Counties under pressure

In March, the governor named ten counties "CARE Champions" and designated ten others he called underperforming, including Los Angeles, Orange, San Francisco and Santa Clara, as "CARE ICU" counties, to get extra support from the state's CARE Improvement and Coordination Unit. The November announcement says those ten had been below the statewide average of 6.2 petitions per 100,000 residents, that all have made progress and that most are now above it. It says Fresno County has doubled its petition count since last year and Kern County has tripled its count.

How CARE works

According to CalHHS, a family member, first responder, doctor, therapist or the person themselves can file a petition. If a judge thinks the person may be eligible, a county health team meets them and reports back within 30 days. Every participant is provided with a lawyer, and the plan or agreement, which a judge must approve, usually lasts a year and can be extended by up to another year. The agency stresses that CARE is not for everyone experiencing homelessness or mental illness, only for people with schizophrenia spectrum or similar psychotic disorders who meet strict criteria. Counties that fail to provide court-ordered services can face fines or, in serious cases, an outside manager. The agency's page links to the courts' guide on how to file.