CITY LETTERHEAD
August 9, 2022
The Honorable Chris R. Holden
Chair, Assembly Appropriations Committee
1021 O St, Suite 8220
Sacramento, CA 95814
RE: SB 1338 (Umberg) Community Assistance, Recovery, and Empowerment (CARE) Court Program (As Amended June 6, 2022) - SUPPORT
Dear Assembly Member Holden,
On behalf of the City of Cotati (City), I write in support of bill SB 1338 (Umberg) which would enact the Community Assistance, Recovery, and Empowerment (CARE) Act, which would authorize specified individuals to petition a civil court to create a voluntary CARE agreement or court-ordered CARE plan and implement county behavioral health agency services to provide behavioral health care to adults suffering from schizophrenia spectrum and psychotic disorders, as specified.
The City understands that addressing housing and homelessness requires a holistic approach grounded in partnerships, and the CARE program proposed under SB 1338 would establish a working partnership between the community, local government (county/city), and the state to further address a root cause of homelessness for a specific segment of the community.
The City is working collaboratively with the County of Sonoma and local nonprofit partners to achieve functional zero homelessness, where every unsheltered resident experiencing homelessness who accepts assistance can be sheltered in temporary or permanent housing. The City is also working collaboratively with the City of Rohnert Park to assist people in our communities with a mobile mental health crisis response team, as an alternative to a law enforcement-only response. Having the CARE program will provide an additional resource to address moderate and severe mental health needs of persons experiencing homelessness.
This bill would lead to important mechanisms that would divert the criminalization of mental health disorders and provide essential resources for the limited, yet critically impacted unhoused members of our community experiencing severe mental health events due to schizophrenia and other psychotic disorders. Local governments currently do not have access to adequate alternatives to address the needs of these individuals who would experience positive outcomes from a CARE plan.
To improve the likelihood of successful implementation of SB 1338, we recommend the following additions to the current language:
1. Allow phasing in the program statewide.
2. Providing increased funding above the current $65 million to support state-wide implementation and long-term costs of this program.
3. Require cities to be included in the development of CARE plans.
4. Only levying sanctions on counties when the court finds persistent or deliberate noncompliance.
We hope these additions will improve the bill and are in strong support of SB 1338. Should you have any questions please contact Damien O’Bid, our City Manager, at (707) 665-3622 or [email protected].
Sincerely,
Mark Landman
Mayor