A homeless encampment under a pedestrian bridge near Highway 101 in Redwood City, Calif., on Thursday, Jan 27, 2011. San Mateo County plans to launch a mental health court this summer aimed at compelling homeless people and others with severe, untreated psychotic disorders into treatment plans and facilities.This July, San Mateo is set to become the second Bay Area county to start the program, following San Francisco, which in October opened one of California’s first CARE courts.
Elsewhere in the Bay Area, Santa Clara and Contra Costa counties said they were on track to meet the Dec. 1 deadline but declined to share when they plan to launch their CARE courts. Alameda County said it’s slated to initiate its CARE court in December. LifeMoves, a nonprofit that does street outreach and operates homeless shelters across the county, said it welcomes CARE Court’s early arrival in San Mateo County.
However, if patients do not comply with their treatment plans, they could be referred to a locked facility or jailed if they have a pending criminal case. Participants cannot be forcibly medicated or jailed solely for refusing care. Treatment plans last one year and could be renewed for a second year.
Ahead of CARE Court’s start last year, local officials across the state raised concerns about a lack of psychiatric beds and supportive housing for program patients. According to afrom the public policy think tank RAND, the state has a shortage of roughly 7,730 treatment and residential care beds.Walters: Politicians keep shifting blame as California’s homelessness crisis worsens, a $6.
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