BY MARIJKE ROWLAND
CV Journalism Collaborative
California has launched a new online tool to track counties’ progress on a series of sweeping mental health policy reforms, providing a window into how Central Valley counties compare to the rest of the state.
The Mental Health for All accountability dashboard highlights progress on Proposition 1, which voters narrowly passed in March, and other major behavioral health initiatives aimed at tackling the state’s homelessness and drug crises.
Gov. Gavin Newsom has called the website a “new thermometer that tracks our progress on implementation.” The governor has been critical of counties for their slow enactment of Proposition 1, which shifts mental health funding to housing and treatment beds, SB 43, which allows more people to be placed in involuntary care, and CARE Court, a new judicial division meant to handle cases related to mental health.
The dashboard encourages residents to ask questions and push their county leaders to enact the changes. A link on the site directs people to which local officials to contact and provides questions to ask about Proposition 1.
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Like most parts of the state, Valley counties have taken their time to implement many of the complex, and in some cases controversial, changes. Only Stanislaus County has more of a head start in the region, thanks to its participation in the CARE Court pilot program. Stanislaus was among seven counties to launch the new program almost a year early.
The new laws allow for delays in implementation, in some cases, for years. Most Valley counties, including San Joaquin, Merced and Fresno, appear to be taking that time to plan the broad range of changes required. One of the biggest challenges is the restructuring of mental health funding as required by the passage of Proposition 1.
Voters in Central Valley counties all roundly rejected the ballot measure, which will funnel more mental health funding into housing interventions and away from community based programs that offer treatment and support services. The two-part initiative, which faced criticism from mental health professionals and advocates, also approved $6.4 billion in bonds for the construction of largely institutional housing and treatment facilities. All counties, except for some of California’s smallest, have until July 1, 2026 to implement the changes.
The accountability dashboard features charts that show the number of treatment units and beds, as well as permanent supportive and veterans housing units, currently planned or under construction as the state prepares for an influx of building from Prop. 1.
Some Stanislaus County officials have called for swifter action on the reforms. Supervisors in that county moved up the timeline for the updated conservatorship changes required by SB 43. While the vast majority of counties have opted to delay SB 43 implementation until Jan. 1, 2026, Stanislaus supervisors voted to set a target of Jan. 1, 2025.
SB 43 expands the state’s criteria for conservatorship to include individuals with standalone severe substance use disorders and people with mental health conditions who cannot provide for their personal safety or necessary medical care. The changes allow more people to be placed in involuntary conservatorship, including 5150 holds initiated by law enforcement or health providers that detain people in psychiatric facilities for 72 hours.
Only San Francisco and San Luis Obispo implemented SB 43 at the start of this year, when the law went into effect. Sacramento, San Bernardino and San Diego counties have also set earlier implementation deadlines.
Besides Stanislaus, Tuolumne, Glenn, San Francisco, Orange, Riverside and San Diego all launched CARE Court last October as part of the pilot program. Since then Los Angeles and San Mateo counties have launched their programs.
Kern County plans to launch its program this October. Meanwhile, the Dec. 1 deadline for setting up new CARE Court divisions is quickly approaching the rest of the Valley counties.
In a launch video for the site, Newsom urged Californians to contact their local leaders to “get the ball rolling.”
“This is simply too urgent to wait,” Newsom said. “It’s up to all of us to make sure these important transformations are happening at the local level. Counties have the tools to create change and it’s time to get to work.”
For more on the Mental Health for All accountability dashboard visit www.mentalhealth.ca.gov/accountability.html.
