CARE Court implementation and progress are accelerating, reaching more than 10,000 Californians in crisis
What you need to know: Governor Newsom announced the release of new data showing promising results as counties fully implement the CARE Act. The Governor also launched a new statewide behavioral health data dashboard that puts statewide, county-reported behavioral health data all in one place to help Californians track progress and investments in their communities.
SACRAMENTO – Governor Gavin Newsom released the 2026 CARE Act Annual Report that, along with the latest statewide data, shows the CARE Act is reaching more Californians with serious mental illness and increasingly connecting them to treatment, housing, and other supports through voluntary engagement.
The Governor also announced a new tool that puts statewide, county-reported behavioral health data, including CARE Act progress, all in one place to help Californians track progress in their communities. The Behavioral Health Public County Profile empowers people to compare counties’ behavioral health planning, funding, service delivery, and progress toward statewide goals — and hold government accountable.
By making data accessible and in one place, we are giving people the tools to see what’s working, where the gaps are, and how we can build a system that delivers care, dignity, and hope for everyone. Knowledge is power, and we are far from powerless.
Governor Gavin Newsom
What the data tells us
The Community Assistance, Recovery, and Empowerment (CARE) Act is a cornerstone of the state’s work to modernize California’s behavioral health system and confront homelessness after decades of systemic failure. CARE connects individuals with untreated or undertreated schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders to the voluntary support they need to thrive, from behavioral health to housing, depending on the needs of the individual. A judge then presides over the case, ensuring accountability and outcomes. Individuals, family members, first responders, behavioral health professionals, or eligible county staff all may submit petitions to CARE Court
“Success means this is the longest someone’s ever been sober,” said Katia Benthale, Deputy Public Defender for Ventura County. “Success means this is the longest someone’s stayed out of custody. I’ve had clients say, ‘This is the longest I haven’t been arrested,’ and that gives me goosebumps.”
The first CARE Act programs began in eight participating counties in 2023 and were fully implemented in all 58 counties by December 2024. Since then, through June 2026, CARE Act pathways have reached more than 10,000 Californians, with more than 5,400 CARE petitions filed across 54 counties. Of those, 1,414 petitions have resulted in voluntary CARE agreements and 56 in court-ordered CARE plans. Nearly 4,900 people who first engaged via CARE have been referred to services outside the formal CARE Act process. By combining continued outreach with coordinated behavioral health, housing, and community-based services, CARE is helping counties reach people who have often struggled to remain connected to treatment and stable housing.
Counties across the state are seeing success as they lean in on implementation. Those placed on the “CARE ICU” list earlier this year have made significant improvement. “CARE ICU” (Improvement and Coordination Unit) Counties received targeted technical support and training for county implementers to address any challenges they were experiencing. Fresno and Kern Counties, in particular, have shown notable advancements, with Fresno County doubling and Kern County tripling its number of petitions since last year.
More detailed information on CARE implementation and participant outcomes through June 2025 is available in the recently released 2026 CARE Act Annual Report. While implementation remains ongoing and longer-term outcomes will continue to be evaluated, the early results are encouraging. California will continue working with counties, courts, providers, and community partners to strengthen CARE and connect more people living with serious mental illness to treatment, stability, and a pathway to recovery.
Data and accountability at your fingertips
The Behavioral Health Public County Profile, also released today, consolidates county-reported data that was previously scattered or difficult to access. This marks a major milestone in California’s effort to increase transparency and accountability, making county behavioral health data publicly accessible in a single dashboard, including demographics, homelessness and housing-related behavioral health services, and performance measures. Californians can use this information to see how local resources are allocated and how county performance compares statewide, while policymakers and stakeholders can use this data to strengthen oversight, monitor progress toward statewide goals, and inform future investments.
“California set out to establish one place where the public can clearly see how our behavioral health system is functioning at the local level, and this tool delivers on that vision,” said DHCS Director Michelle Baass. “The profile brings together complex data in a format that’s easy to understand, supporting more informed statewide and local conversations about how to advance behavioral health services.”
The release of the profile follows California’s transition on July 1, 2026, from the Mental Health Services Act to the new Behavioral Health Services Act (BHSA), as approved by California voters through Proposition 1 in 2024, which strengthens statewide accountability by tying county investments to statewide goals for outcomes, equity, and transparency. Counties were required to create BHSA Integrated Plans, three-year roadmaps for behavioral health services, programs, and investments. These plans lay out how counties plan to meet state and local goals, and specify how they will use behavioral health funding to address local mental health and substance use disorder needs, improve access to care, and strengthen services across the care continuum — so everyone can find the level and kind of care they need.
“The Governor’s work in terms of behavioral health transformation has been nothing short of extraordinary for both substance use and mental health providers,” said Brandon Fernandez, CEO of CRI-HELP. “The forthcoming integration at the clinical level of substance use disorder and mental health services will absolutely stand to create better pathways into treatment services and improve clinical outcomes for individuals who are receiving treatment in all of our different levels of care, whether that be on the outpatient side, acute inpatient side, withdrawal management, or in our residential treatment settings.”
The full 2026 CARE Act Annual Report, CARE Act Implementation Update, and the Behavioral Health Public County Profile dashboard are available now.