Santa Clara County Superior Court has responded to recent remarks by Governor Newsom, who named the county as one of ten in California with low per capita rates of CARE Court petitions.
The court clarified that it does not control the number of CARE Court petitions filed, stating, “CARE Court petitions are not filed by the Court so the Court does not control the caseload.” The statement also noted that when CARE Court was implemented in December 2024, Santa Clara County Superior Court already operated several collaborative court programs. These include Mental Health Diversion, Mental Health/Drug Treatment Courts, Veterans’ Court, and Dependency Wellness Court. Each program involves multi-disciplinary teams such as the Behavioral Health Services Department to provide services like treatment, housing support, and benefit assistance for justice-involved individuals.
The court further highlighted its partnership with Santa Clara County to conduct Outreach Court sessions monthly at the Re-Entry Center in San Jose. This initiative gives people—including those without stable housing—an opportunity to petition for record clearance, resolve outstanding criminal matters, and receive referrals to mental health or drug treatment courts.
Recent changes in CARE Court legislation have expanded eligibility requirements. According to the court’s statement: “Approximately 60 days ago, the CARE Court legislation changed to expand eligibility requirements. As a result, Santa Clara County Superior Court expects to receive an increase in petitions for CARE Court services; based on the first two months of 2026, we may expect to see as many as 80 petitions this year, almost twice the number of petitions filed in 2025.” The court maintains a dedicated calendar every Friday afternoon for reviewing CARE Court cases with participants.
Statewide data about affordable housing and behavioral health services is available through California’s Accountability website (https://www.accountability.ca.gov/county/all/). The site provides statistics on each county’s efforts related to housing and behavioral health services. The statement notes that Santa Clara County’s numbers for individuals participating in “Full-Service Partnerships” reflect ongoing efforts by both the court and local agencies to connect justice-involved individuals with necessary behavioral health resources.
