CARE Court proponents touted the program as a solution to obligate Californians with serious, untreated psychotic illnesses to accept treatment.
In San Diego County, the program has also been serving another group: people exiting involuntary treatment via court-ordered conservatorships.
Our Lisa Halverstadt reveals that just over 20 percent of the 105 voluntary CARE agreements that the county has reached since it rolled out its program in fall 2023 have been with people departing conservatorships.
State Sen. Tom Umberg, the author of 2022 legislation that created CARE Court, is among those surprised by this development.
County and state officials say state law allows this.
County officials argue CARE Court is a valuable tool to provide more support and oversight to people exiting forced care that can help them maintain stability – and thus avoid another conservatorship.
The Three Candidates in the 40th Senate District Race
When State Sen. Brian Jones terms out of office next year, he’ll leave an open seat in the 40th State Senate District, which includes parts of North County, East County and San Diego. It’s nearly evenly split between Democratic and Republican voters, “one of the most purple districts in the state,” Jones said.
Three candidates are competing to fill the seat: Democrat Marni von Wilpert, a San Diego City Councilmember and former city prosecutor; Republican Ed Musgrove, a San Marcos City Councilmember and retired Sheriff’s Captain; and Republican Kristie Bruce-Lane, a former Olivenhain Municipal Water District board member and two-time Assembly candidate.
In other news, newbie Assemblymember Carl DeMaio was kicked off the budget committee after posting videos that annoyed Assembly leadership.
Read the Sacramento Report here.
Politics Report: Why Didn’t They Back Foster?
We pulled the following from the Politics Report. That’s our politics newsletter available exclusively to Voice of San Diego members. Become a member today.
Last week, the San Diego City Council decided to curtail the controversial ADU density bonus program. If what Council requested sticks, the city will “reduce the ADU bonus Program applicability” in some of the neighborhoods with the biggest lot sizes. But it did not go far enough for some.
The vote came after Councilmember Henry Foster once again asked his colleagues to kill the whole program. They had supported him last month. On our podcast this week, he confirmed that he only sought that dramatic of a change because the mayor was unwilling to consider a pause.
For two months, he said, he asked the mayor and the mayor’s staff to help him.
Foster told us he never wanted that extreme of an outcome.
“My intent was always to pause applications,” he said.
This week, he again moved to kill the whole program. However, this time, nobody seconded him. The big question: Why didn’t anyone support him?
Read more in the Politics Report here.
VOSD Podcast: On the latest episode, our hosts spoke to Councilmember Foster III about the fireworks around footnote 7 and his push to roll back the city’s ADU density bonus program. Listen to the full episode here or wherever you get your pods.
Don’t Miss This: Women Leading the Conversation
Join us on March 20 for a discussion with four women leading some of San Diego’s major institutions.
Panelists include: San Diego Symphony CEO Martha Gilmer, Rep. Sara Jacobs, San Diego State University President Adela de la Torre and Ebony Shelton, CAO of the county of San Diego.
We’ll be at the Farmer and Seahorse, Illumina Theatre from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Buy your tickets here.
In Other News
- Ballots went out to over 370,000 registered voters in San Diego County for the District One special primary election following Nora Vargas’ unexpected departure. (County News Center)
- After heavy rainfall led to rescues and flooded roads, authorities warn that parts of the county could experience minor flooding. (NBC 7)
- Encinitas names interim city manager, Jennifer Campbell, as their permanent city manager. (Union-Tribune)
- USA TODAY named O’Brien’s Pub in Kearny Mesa as the No. 1 beer bar in the nation for the second year in a row. (USA TODAY)
The Morning Report was written by Lisa Halverstadt, Andrea Lopez-Villfaña and Alina Ajaz. It was edited by Andrea Lopez-Villafaña.