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California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s controversial proposal to steer homeless people with severe mental illness into treatment cleared the state House on Tuesday and is on its way to becoming law despite opposition from civil liberties advocates who fear it could be used to funnel homeless residents into care. i don’t want.
Homeless people with serious mental health disorders often cycle between the streets, prisons and hospitals, with no body in place to protect them. They can stay in a psychiatric hospital involuntarily for up to 72 hours. But after stabilization, the person who agreed to continue taking medication and follow services should be discharged.
The state House voted 60-2 on Tuesday to require counties to establish a special civil court to handle petitions filed by families, first responders and other people with illnesses such as schizophrenia. Mental illness.
The court can order a plan that lasts for up to 12 months and can be renewed for another 12 months. A person facing a criminal charge can avoid a sentence by completing a mental health treatment plan. A person who does not agree to a treatment plan can be forced. Newsom said he hopes these courts catch people before they end up in the criminal court system.
The bill represents a new approach for California to address homelessness, a crisis the state has struggled with for decades. The state government spends billions of dollars on the issue every year, only for the people to see little improvement on the streets.
“I believe this bill is an opportunity to write a new narrative,” said Rep. Mike Gipson, a Democrat who voted for the bill.
The bill has now passed both chambers of the state Legislature and needs one more vote in the state Senate before heading to Newsom’s desk. Newsom has until the end of September to sign it into law.
The proposal had broad support from lawmakers who said it was clear California needed to do something about the mental health crisis on highways and city streets. Supporters have relayed harrowing stories of loved ones drifting in and out of temporary psychiatric wards without the means to stabilize them in a long-term treatment plan.
Republican Assemblywoman Suzette Martinez Valladares said her cousin, a Vietnam War veteran, was living on the streets in a homeless encampment before his death.
“I wish my family had the tools that this bill would bring forward if he was still alive and with us,” she said. “This is to save lives. The time has come.”
Critics of the law have maintained that the state doesn’t have enough housing, treatment beds, outreach workers and therapists to care for people who need help, never mind the people forced to take it. People who choose to receive treatment are more likely to be successful than those who are forced to, they say.
“At what point does compassion end and our desire to get people off the streets and out of the public eye begin?” He said. “I don’t think this is a very good bill. But this time it seems like a good idea to try to improve the situation.
The bill says Glenn, Orange, Riverside, San Diego, San Francisco, Stanislaus and Tuolumne counties must establish courts by Oct. 1, 2023, and the remainder by Dec. 1, 2024.
Courts can fine counties up to $1,000 per day for noncompliance.
“There is no perfect solution to this problem. But this is better than doing nothing and in a democracy it is very easy to kick a problem down the road and not do anything,” said Rep. Steve Bennett, a Democrat who voted for the law.
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