Proposition 1, Care Courts and Conservatorship –“Controversy” Eclipses the Opportunity

By Bart Magee, Ph.D.
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After a close election, Proposition 1, the bond measure sponsored by Governor Newsom to provide billions for mental health and substance abuse-related housing and treatment, passed. This comes on the heels of the recent establishment “Care Courts”, and changes in conservatorship laws, which will allow, for the first time in decades, compelled treatment for individuals with schizophrenia and other forms of  severe mental illness. There is no question that these hotly debated proposals now being implemented add up to a paradigm shift in the approach to the treatment of severe mental illness. The question is: Will they work as intended?

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