California Gov. Gavin Newsom signed Senate Bill 27 into law, expanding the state’s Community Assistance, Recovery and Empowerment Act to increase access to behavioral health treatment and housing for residents with serious mental illness.
The legislation enhances Care Court — a statewide mental healthcare-coordination program active in all 58 counties — by expanding eligibility and enabling earlier interventions by county agencies and courts, according to an Oct. 10 news release from the governor’s office. It also allows licensed professionals such as nurse practitioners and physician assistants to participate in the Care process.
SB 27 also requires judges to consider Care Court as a first-line option for misdemeanor defendants with serious mental illness, aiming to reduce the number of individuals who cycle through the criminal justice system without consistent access to care, according to the news release.
More than 1.2 million adults in California live with a serious mental illness, and 1 in 10 residents meet the criteria for a substance use disorder. The expansion is part of California’s broader effort to modernize its behavioral health system and curb homelessness.
Between 2014 and 2019, the state’s unsheltered homeless population grew by about 37,000 people. In 2024, California limited homelessness growth to 3% compared with a national increase of more than 18%. The state also held unsheltered homelessness growth to 0.45% while national rates rose to nearly 7%.
