SACRAMENTO, Calif. — Gov. Gavin Newsom said Monday he was prepared to claw back state funds from 10 counties he said had not made sufficient progress to treat people struggling with their mental health, homelessness, and substance use disorder.

Newsom labeled San Francisco, Los Angeles, San Bernardino, Orange, Kern, Riverside, Yolo, Monterey, Fresno and Santa Clara counties “underperforming” when it came to implementing CARE Court, his 2023 initiative expanding a state mental health program.

The “benchmark” for successful implementation is 6.2 petitions per 100,000 residents, Newsom told reporters during a news conference in Alameda County, referring to the process by which qualified providers or family members can compel someone to undergo treatment, either voluntarily or via court order.

The 10 counties were listed as “underperforming” because they reported the lowest petitions per capita of 100,000 residents, according to Newsom spokesperson Tara Gallegos. His office said in a news release that they would “receive additional support through the state’s CARE Improvement and Coordination Unit.”

Last year was the first year all 58 California counties partook in the program. The residential rate is based on the 12 months of calendar year 2025, according to Newsom’s office.

Newsom championed CARE Court as his signature program to address street homelessness, mental health and the drug epidemic starting in 2023. According to previous Bee reporting, the San Francisco Chronicle and Cal Matters, CARE Court has fallen far short of its goals due to a slow rollout, high barriers to entry and unattainable expectations.

Newsom has blamed CARE Court’s sluggish pace on local officials, who he said were inadequately supportive, hostile to implementing it, or reticent to challenge residents who were opposed to expanding housing and services. He also touted a 9% drop in unsheltered homelessness, a dubious statistic that is partially based on old federal data from 2024 and numbers pulled from local governments.

“I’m just not interested in funding failure now. So you know, they may overrule me,” he said, referring to past court challenges from local governments. “There’s a lot of power in LA County, Riverside County, Santa Clara County, some of the counties we’re calling out to overrule. But you know, with respect, I’m happy to sweep every damn dollar and redirect it to those, you know, folks up in Humboldt, folks over here in Alameda. Pay for performance, period. It’s common sense.”

Newsom’s office listed Humboldt, Tuolumne, Marin, Napa, Merced, Sutter, Alameda, Santa Barbara, San Mateo and Imperial counties as “CARE Court champions” who had made strides to tackle homelessness and offer increased services.

During the same news conference, Newsom said his administration was awarding $159 million to 20 regions throughout the state for the sixth round of the Homeless Housing, Assistance and Prevention program, which since 2019 has granted state funds to city and county governments. Three of the counties he labeled “CARE ICU Improvement and Coordination Unit) Counties” — San Bernardino, Monterey, and Fresno — received HHAP funds in the latest round.

He named his hometown of San Francisco as an example of “failure,” and suggested that his revised budget proposal in May might reflect less available funding if the city and other local governments don’t make more progress on CARE Court.

The other nine counties Newsom named did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

In an email, Charles Lutvak, a spokesperson for San Francisco Mayor Daniel Lurie, pushed back.

“Since day one, our administration has been using every tool in our toolbox to address the crisis on our streets — reimagining street outreach and adding recovery and treatment resources so we can get people off the street and connected to the support they need,” he wrote.

“Today, encampments are at record lows, more people are getting connected to shelter and treatment, and San Franciscans feel safer than they have in years. We have more work to do, and we welcome any additional support from our state partners to strengthen CARE Court and any of the other pathways that have helped us get people in crisis off the street and into the care they need.”

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