Senator Susan Talamantes Eggman (D- Stockton) released the following statement in response to the Governor’s unveiling of his CARE Court proposal.
“The Governor’s proposal is bold and much needed. I appreciate the his commitment to getting those with the greatest needs in the community connected to behavioral health care and guaranteeing that services will be available. We have also heard the calls to fix our broken behavioral health system and we must continue to focus on it. Should this proposal be implemented, the current system will still be there to receive folks who may not meet CARE Court criteria or fall out of the system. Sending them back to something we can all agree is not working would not make sense and run counter to the proposal’s goals.
I am actively working on a number of bills that would make significant progress on this front, including legislation to:
- Refocus the Mental Health Services Act on achieving treatment outcomes rather than just meeting funding formula requirements and improving both accountability and transparency of County spending
- Modernize our conservatorship process to ensure that all relevant information is taken into account by the courts, that the state is tracking outcome and service data, and that those unable to provide for their medical care and personal protection due to their mental illness are eligible for consideration
- Improve treatment coordination and planning through an online bed database and a regional planning process
- Continue to improve our existing Assisted Outpatient Treatment program
I look forward to working with the administration on their CARE Court proposal, while also fixing our existing system, which will continue to serve Californians in need.”
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