Three years ago, California lawmakers promised a fix for one of the state’s most persistent mental health challenges: how to get severely ill people into treatment when they are unable or unwilling to seek help on their own. Senate Bill 43 was supposed to widen the net for involuntary, year-long mental health conservatorships, giving counties more tools to intervene before a crisis turned deadly.
But a new analysis suggests the law hasn’t delivered the sweeping change many had hoped for.
Reporting shows that among California’s largest counties, most have seen no meaningful rise in conservatorship numbers since the law took effect. Toni Navarro, who leads behavioral health services for Santa Barbara County, put it plainly: the law simply hasn’t had the impact officials anticipated.
That’s not to say SB 43 accomplished nothing. Behavioral health leaders in several counties credit the law with pushing mental health and substance abuse teams to collaborate more closely — a meaningful shift given how often Californians struggling with addiction are also battling serious mental illness.
Still, for families who lost loved ones to crises that went unresolved, the law’s limited reach is a painful reality. Annis Pereyra, whose son Joaquin Anthony “Tony” Pereyra was fatally shot by Walnut Creek police during a mental health episode in February, believes a conservatorship could have forced her son into taking antipsychotic medication — and possibly saved his life. “His needs were ignored at every turn that happened,” she said. “Every single turn.”
Her story underscores the gap between the law’s intent and its practical effect, a gap that continues to frustrate families and officials alike as California works to reform its mental health system.
VETERANS AND MILITARY FAMILIES FIND GROWING FOOTHOLD AT CAL STATE
Elsewhere in California higher education, enrollment numbers show a notable trend: nearly 22,000 veterans and their children are now attending California State University campuses, a 17% jump since 2022 that far outpaces the system’s overall growth of roughly 3%.
Most of these students are dependents of veterans who have passed along educational benefits, whether through transfer of GI Bill eligibility, a parent’s service-related disability, or a parent’s death while serving. Every one of Cal State’s 22 campuses operates a dedicated veterans’ center to support these students.
Financial aid appears to be a major driver of the increase. Since fall 2022, use of federal veterans’ education benefits across the Cal State system has grown 36%, while use of the California Department of Veterans Affairs College Fee Waiver is up 18%, according to materials prepared for next week’s Cal State Board of Trustees meeting. The system also offers dedicated counseling and outreach efforts on military bases to connect with prospective students early.
There are eight federal programs and one state program available to help veterans pay for college, though not every veteran qualifies, depending on discharge status or whether benefits have already been used elsewhere. Statewide, about 84,000 veterans are currently enrolled in college, according to federal data.
SCHOOL REPAIR BONDS STUMBLE AT THE BALLOT BOX
Meanwhile, California voters appear to have delivered a setback to local school districts hoping to fund facility repairs. Of the 86 bond measures placed on November ballots statewide, nearly half are on track to fail — a sign that economic anxiety may be shaping how residents view new taxpayer debt.
Combined, those bonds would have authorized more than $12.4 billion in borrowing. That’s a sharp drop from two years ago, when school bonds on statewide ballots totaled nearly four times as much and most measures succeeded.
The trend contrasts with the fate of three major statewide bond measures covering housing and medical research, which did pass.
In the Central Valley, Visalia Unified’s $158 million bond appears headed for defeat. Superintendent Kirk Shrum said more than 70% of the district’s buildings are at least 50 years old and badly in need of repair. Without bond funding, he said, the district will have to juggle its existing budget to cover urgent fixes — but it won’t be enough to make real progress. “We’ll never be able to get ahead of it,” Shrum said.
Original source: CalMatters
