Sonoma County’s new CARE Court, part of a statewide effort to direct people with serious mental illness to treatment and housing, starts 1 Dec in the middle of some doubts about its future prospects. The skepticism is justified, but the initiative is a worthy attempt to help a segment of the homeless population that is difficult to reach and difficult to stabilize.

Under the state’s Community Assistance, Recovery and Empowerment Actfamily members and first responders can petition civil courts to refer troubled individuals who meet specific definitions of schizophrenia or other serious mental disorders to a 12-month program of treatment, services, and housing. The individual must agree to participate.

The court tracks each participant’s progress, and those who do well can renew for another 12 months. Successful participants graduate; those who fail to complete treatment are considered for conservatorship.

Governor Gavin Newsom championed the CARE Act, and the legislature overwhelmingly approved it, with only two members voting against it. Newsom highlights it as a key component of his $14 billion investment in housing and treatment and $10 billion in annual support for community health services.

The legislation was a kind of compromise. Democrats have long pushed for homeless initiatives that focus on housing first, followed by mental health care. Republicans have emphasized behavioral and mental health treatment first, then housing.

This effort unites the two perspectives in a tightly controlled environment overseen by a judge who follows strict guidelines designed to protect individuals’ civil rights and serve the program’s effectiveness.

But critics have good reason to question expectations. Unfortunately, California has a track record of pursuing noble intentions but producing few tangible gains in the campaign to end homelessness.

Some problems can be solved by careful monitoring, which is built into this program, and by a full public reporting of the results. If CARE courts prove ineffective, lawmakers could revise the program or scrap it and try again.

Expectations must be temperatehowever. This initiative will not magically solve the state’s homeless crisis. A legislative analysis of the bill, an estimated 7,000 to 12,000 people a year land in the program — a fraction of the state’s 160,000-plus homeless individuals and estimated 1.5 million Californians with serious mental disorders.

The results of eight counties running pilot programs for the past year — including Orange, San Diego, San Francisco and Los Angeles — appear to be on track with those expectations. IN San DiegoFor example, 71 were enrolled, with only two graduating so far.

In Sonoma County, as many 40 CARE Court petitions expected in the first year, based on current levels of conservatorships and misdemeanors involving mental health issues. To some observers, that might not seem like much of a return on the $282,613 recently approved by the Board of Supervisors for CARE Court staff and overhead costs.

But the complexity of serious mental health issues demands just this intensive response. Furthermore, no community in California, including those in the North Bay, should view the problem as intractable or beyond its responsibilities to help those among us who are struggling.

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