LA County says a program meant to help people with serious mental illness is gaining traction

LA County's CARE Court program, designed to assist individuals with serious mental illness through court-led care agreements, initially struggled with low petition numbers but saw an 85% increase between November 2025 and March 2026. The program expanded diagnostic criteria to include bipolar I disorder with psychotic features, and officials attribute the growth to collaborations with hospitals and first responders. Critics, including the ACLU of Southern California, argue the program is costly and fails to address systemic underfunding in mental health care.