Solano County panel outlines Care Court process as residents press concerns over access and criminalization

Vice Mayor Pam Bertani opened a public forum in Fairfield on Solano County's Care Court program on Dec. 20, introducing a panel that included Presiding Judge Alicia Jones, Jen Mullane (chief deputy director, Solano County Behavioral Health) and Kelly Welsh (deputy county counsel). The hourlong session explained who may be petitioned, what a Care Court agreement looks like and how the county is preparing for expanded eligibility.

Panelists said Care Court is a civil, voluntary process intended to connect people who have serious mental illness to treatment and housing resources rather than to punish them. "The governor's project was to fund robustly in every county a care court which would enable people to voluntarily participate in proceedings that would provide them with resources that are available in the community," Presiding Judge Alicia Jones said, framing the court's role as an entry point for services. Jones cautioned Care Court is not a cure: "All the money in the world... does not cure schizophrenia," she said, stressing the program's goal is to "ease someone's suffering."

Why it matters: Care Court is part of a statewide effort launched under Governor Newsom to create voluntary civil pathways to care for people with serious mental illness who may be living unhoused or otherwise disconnected from treatment. Local implementation affects where people can be referred for housing, whether they can access intensive outpatient teams, and how families and first responders initiate…