VICTORVILLE, Calif., July 20 (High Desert News Online) — For San Bernardino County residents who may need CARE Act help, the practical issue is not the meeting itself but what it changes: who knows the process, where referrals go, and how families can get answers.
The California Health and Human Services Agency said state, county and city leaders met July 7 at Victorville City Hall to strengthen CARE Act implementation in San Bernardino County. CalHHS said the convening focused on training local partners on the CARE Act process, building awareness of available resources, and creating coordinated referral pathways for eligible individuals and families.
For a normal resident, that means local agencies are trying to make the system easier to navigate when a person may qualify for CARE Act services.
What the CARE Act is
The CARE Act is part of California’s behavioral health system and uses a court-linked process to connect some people with support and services. A county document describes it as an “upstream intervention” for individuals.
The state’s CARE Act Working Group says its role is to coordinate and support collaboration among state and local partners while counties implement the law. CalHHS materials say the working group meets quarterly through Dec. 31, 2026.
The CalHHS working group page lists Dr. Alyce Belford Saldana of the San Bernardino County Department of Behavioral Health as a member.
How San Bernardino County has rolled it out
San Bernardino County says it launched CARE Act implementation on Dec. 1, 2024. The county said the Fontana Court District began accepting petitions on Dec. 2, 2024.
A county document says the Board of Supervisors approved CARE Act implementation in 2023, authorizing the Department of Behavioral Health and the Superior Court to begin implementation.
The county also hosted a CARE Act site visit on Feb. 23 with representatives from CalHHS, the Judicial Council of California, the Department of Health Care Services, the Department of State Hospitals, the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, and county and community partners.
Why the Victorville meeting matters
CalHHS said the Victorville convening reflected a shared commitment by the state, San Bernardino County and the City of Victorville to support public education, implementation readiness and collaboration across the region.
That matters because CARE Act implementation depends on more than a court filing. It also depends on local behavioral health staff, court staff and referral partners using the same process and giving the same information.
CalHHS said San Bernardino County’s Department of Behavioral Health planned a virtual CARE Act information session for July 15 from noon to 1 p.m. and a virtual CARE Act office hour for July 30 from noon to 1 p.m.
Statewide context
The Governor’s Office said in a Dec. 1, 2022 post that CARE Act implementation began statewide with an initial group of counties. That post said the law was authored by state Sens. Thomas Umberg and Susan Talamantes Eggman and sponsored by Gov. Gavin Newsom.
The governor’s office said the first cohort included Glenn, Orange, Riverside, San Diego, Stanislaus, Tuolumne, and the city and county of San Francisco.
In San Bernardino County, the current focus is on making the process clearer and easier to use for people who may need it and for the agencies that help connect them to care.
