Monterey County officials clap back after Gov. Newsom puts the county in 'CARE Court ICU.'

Standing behind a podium in Hayward on Monday, March 2, with a placard declaring "Treatment Not Tents," Gov. Gavin Newsom had strong words for the 10 counties he believed are lagging behind in getting people with severe behavioral health issues into the state's CARE Court system. Monterey County is one of the 10, which he declared are in "CARE Court ICU."

"I'm happy to redirect every damn penny in these programs to the counties that are getting things done, period, full stop," he said. "Unless they stop doing what they've done. Don't make any more excuses."

Besides Monterey, the other counties are Los Angeles, Orange, San Francisco, Santa Clara, San Bernardino, Kern, Riverside, Yolo and Fresno.

On Tuesday, March 3, Monterey County leaders pushed back in a statement issued on behalf of the County's Behavioral Health Bureau, which has been coordinating CARE Court, in partnership with Superior Court, as well as County Counsel, the Public Defender and the Public Guardian, since December 2024.

The county's CARE Court caseload has doubled since October, according to the statement, and the number of petitions made to the court is at a rate of 7.3 people per 100,000 residents, exceeding the statewide rate of 6.2. 

"These outcomes reflect proactive outreach and strong partnerships across local systems," it said.

According to the Judicial Branch of California, Monterey County had 26 petitions filed as of December, one year after the county's CARE Court began taking cases. Other counties in less populated regions like Monterey posted similar numbers: Santa Cruz posted 24 cases; San Luis Obispo 28.

There are currently 16 active cases before the County's CARE Court and one pending, according to a spokesperson.

The County's statement contends that when CARE Court opened in Monterey County in 2024, there was no surge in petitions to join the program "because most families already feel well-supported by the County's strong voluntary Behavioral Health services. Voluntary engagement remains the gold standard for sustainable recovery, and the CARE Act itself prioritizes voluntary treatment whenever possible."

According to a CalMatters investigation published last fall, CARE Court has served far fewer people statewide than was originally estimated. When the court was created through the Community Assistance, Recovery and Empowerment Act in 2023, the estimate was that it would help direct between 7,000 to 12,000 people into treatment. By the end of December just 3,545 petitions had been filed statewide.

Despite Newsom's tough statement, he pledged that those on the CARE Court ICU list would get extra funds through the California CARE Improvement and Coordination Unit. No specifics were offered about how that would work.