In March, California voters will weigh in on a $6.8 billion bond initiative to fund new behavioral health treatment and housing spaces in the state.
Gov. Gavin Newsom signed a pair of bills Oct. 12 that will build 11,150 new inpatient treatment beds and 26,700 outpatient treatment slots across the state.
"These reforms, and this new investment in behavioral health housing, will help California make good on promises made decades ago," Mr. Newsom said in an Oct. 12 news release. "We see the signs of our broken system every day — too many Californians suffering from mental health needs or substance use disorders and unable to get support or care they need. This will prioritize getting people off the streets, out of tents and into treatment."
The proposal would also reallocate some funds from a tax established in 2004 to fund mental health services in the state. If approved, two-thirds of funds collected from this tax would have to be directed to housing and treatment for individuals who are chronically homeless and have several mental illnesses or substance use disorders, ABC News reported.
The proposals are not without opposition. Some local governments said the spending requirements could result in a loss of funding for existing outpatient programs.
The bond initiative is the latest in a series of policies Mr. Newsom proposed to improve California's behavioral health system. Earlier in October, seven counties rolled out a new civil court process designed to move people with psychotic disorders such as untreated schizophrenia into housing and medical care.
On Oct. 10, Mr. Newsom signed legislation updating the state's conservatorship laws, which will make it easier for the state to compel treatment for people with untreated mental illness or substance abuse disorder.