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Democrat California Gov. Gavin Newsom’s program to tackle California’s homelessness crisis has cost hundreds of millions in taxpayer dollars while reaching only a fraction of those it was intended to help, CalMatters reported Tuesday.

Newsom launched the CARE Court program in 2022 to assist “thousands of Californians who are suffering from untreated mental health and substance use disorders leading to homelessness, incarceration or worse,” by allowing courts to mandate treatment. More than three years later, nearly $160 million in taxpayer dollars have been spent, yet the program has reached fewer than 550 people, according to CalMatters .

The program allows family members, first responders, doctors and others to petition the court on behalf of individuals with severe psychosis. Those individuals can voluntarily accept treatment, or a judge can order them into a treatment plan.

State officials initially estimated between 7,000 and 12,000 people could qualify for CARE Court, but through July of 2025, just 2,421 petitions have been filed, CalMatters notes. Nearly half were dismissed, and only 14 cases resulted in court-ordered treatment.

Eight counties reported zero petitions, while others, like San Francisco, reject nearly two-thirds of the petitions they receive, the outlet reported.

The state spent $88.3 million on CARE Court in fiscal year 2022-23 and another $71.3 million in fiscal year 2023-24, according to the Legislative Analyst’s Office . The Assembly Judiciary Committee described CARE Court as a “very expensive way to direct participants to much-needed services and assistance.”

Counties have also contributed their own funds to the program. San Diego County, for example, hired nearly two dozen staff members — including 10 clinicians and two psychologists — in anticipation of a flood of petitions that never materialized.

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“I look at it as a total failure,” said Anita Fisher, whose son suffers from severe mental illness and who had advocated for the program when Newsom first rolled it out, according to CalMatters.

The Golden State’s homelessness crisis has considerably worsened over the past several years, even as the state has spent $24 billion on the issue since Newsom took office in 2019, according to a July 2024 report from the Hoover Institution. In 2024, the state had a record-breaking 187,000 homeless individuals, accounting for almost a quarter of the nation’s homeless population, according to the Public Policy Institute of California.

Despite falling short of expectations, Newsom’s office has touted the CARE Court program as a success.

“CalMatters doesn’t get it. Through referrals and diversions as part of CARE Court’s design, thousands of severely mentally ill people are finally getting treatment and care — and getting off our streets,” Tara Gallegos, Newsom’s deputy director of communications, told the Daily Caller News Foundation. “CARE Court is saving lives and making communities safer.”

This post has been updated to include a comment from Gov. Newsom’s office.

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