Ask almost any Californian and they’ll tell you the most critical issue facing the
state is the terrible homelessness plaguing cities and neighborhoods, with more
and more people suffering from poverty, mental illness and substance abuse, and
not enough resources to help them. To try to break that cycle, the legislature and
Governor Newsom have enacted a series of measures to overhaul California’s
behavioral health system, including launching a pilot program of the governor’s
“Care Court” plan. Some key pieces of legislation were written by State Senator
Susan Talamantes Eggman of Stockton, who is a former Army medic and a
licensed clinical social worker who served previously in the state Assembly, and
is chair of the Senate Health Committee.