Riverside will be one of the first seven counties in California to use Gov. Gavin Newsom’s new CARE Court program for defendants with untreated psychotic disorders.
The Community Assistance, Recovery, and Empowerment Act, signed by Newsom Sept. 14, allows judges to force adults with untreated psychotic disorders into a treatment and housing plan run by the county’s behavioral health agency.
The adult can be put into the program while facing misdemeanor proceedings, conservatorship proceedings or assisted outpatient treatment. The person can also be referred into the program by their family members, a behavioral health provider or a first responder.
The treatment plan will be one
