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California Is Building Thousands of Mental Health Treatment Beds — Gavin Newsom Says It's Ahead of Schedule
California Gov. Gavin Newsom (D) said his administration is exceeding its mental-health expansion targets under Proposition 1, with thousands of new residential treatment beds and outpatient services funded and projects progressing toward completion.
Newsom Touts Mental Health Expansion
On Monday, Newsom said in a post on X that California’s CARE Act was expanding treatment and housing access for people with serious mental illness and addiction.
“California’s CARE Act is providing more treatment and housing to people with serious mental illness and addiction,” he wrote, adding that the state was “EXCEEDING Prop 1 goals.”
The governor cited more than 6,900 new residential treatment beds and 27,000 outpatient treatment slots.
In the accompanying video, Newsom described the funding rollout as the “fastest distribution of funds in the history of the state of California.”
“We gave all the awards and we will exceed the stretch goals, the audacious goals,” he said, referring to the state’s treatment expansion targets.
He added that the projects had already secured funding and were under construction, calling the progress “a big deal.”
California’s CARE Act (Community Assistance, Recovery and Empowerment Act) is a 2022 law that creates a court-supervised process to connect eligible people with serious mental illnesses, particularly schizophrenia-spectrum disorders, to mental health treatment, housing and support services.
Newsom Advances AI, Robotaxi and Housing Reforms
Last month, Newsom signed legislation tightening robotaxi regulations, requiring on-the-ground support and greater accountability when autonomous vehicles disrupt emergency operations.
In September, he ordered faster independent oversight of AI companies and explored emergency shutdown mechanisms for advanced models, criticizing the federal government’s lack of AI regulation.
In July, he signed housing reforms aimed at reducing affordable housing construction costs by an estimated $60,000 to $70,000 per unit, streamlining approvals and expanding housing assistance.
HHS Announces $700M+ Mental Health Funding
Earlier, HHS Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. announced more than $700 million in funding to address mental illness, addiction and homelessness under President Donald Trump’s Great American Recovery Initiative.
The package included $96 million for homeless individuals needing treatment and recovery services, alongside funding for mental health clinics, the 988 crisis hotline and addiction prevention programs.
Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
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