How many mentally needy people walk the streets of Marin, posing a threat to themselves and others? As many as 500, the county estimates

Marinscope

As many as 500 people in Marin walk the streets in a state of untreated schizophrenic and psychotic disorders. They may be eligible to be forced into treatment in a program championed by Gov. Gavin Newsom. It’s called the Community Assistance, Recovery and Empowerment Court – “Care Court” for short. 

Marin County supervisors approved $500,000 last week to get ready should the program be fully implemented by next summer. The program is geared toward people who lack medical decision-making capacity due to mental disorders and therefore could be ordered by a court to accept mandatory treatment.

How many people with severe – and possibly dangerous – mental disorders are out there? 

Todd Schirmer of the Marin County Behavioral Health and Recovery Services told the supervisors  that “somewhere between 200 and 500” walk the streets of Marin in such an impaired state. The estimate is based on the idea that roughly 20% of the state’s homeless people are coping with severe mental illness. 

Should the Care Court become a functioning reality, the supervisors were told by several county agencies that expenses will be much larger than anticipated. 

Housing people fully in a Care Court might cost $50,000 to $300,000 per year by one estimate. The Marin County Public Defender’s office said their workload could double from people who object to Care Court custody. 

“Care Court is a proposed framework to deliver mental health and substance use disorder services to the most severely impaired Californians who too often languish – suffering in homelessness or incarceration – without the treatment they desperately need” the state’s website says, adding: 

“It connects a person in crisis with a court-ordered Care Plan for up to 12 months, with the possibility to extend for an additional 12 months. The framework provides individuals with a clinically appropriate, community-based set of services and supports that are culturally and linguistically competent. This includes short-term stabilization medications, wellness and recovery supports, and connection to social services, including housing. Housing is an important component—finding stability and staying connected to treatment, even with the proper support, is next to impossible while living outdoors, in a tent or a vehicle.”