When Gov. Gavin Newsom’s CARE Court launched in 2023, his administration projected the program could help steer up to 12,000 homeless Californians and others with severe mental illnesses into treatment.

But as of May, only about 2,000 people had been referred to the Community Assistance, Recovery and Empowerment Court, according to a recent state report. And it’s unclear how many of those had actually enrolled in the program and been connected to treatment.

In the Bay Area, 439 referral petitions had been filed across the region’s five largest counties as of last month, according to a survey of local officials by this news organization. As a result of those petitions, only around 100 people were participating in the program.

Local officials and mental health advocates attribute CARE Cou

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