Fresno Pushes Back on Newsom CARE Court Fixes, Demands Funding, Local Solutions

Gov. Gavin Newsom named Fresno County one of 10 counties he characterized as "underperforming" on CARE Court implementation and announced the state would deploy an Improvement and Coordination Unit to assist local rollouts, saying, "I'm not interested in funding failure now." Newsom used the state's public accountability data to create both a "CARE Court ICU" list and a separate set of "CARE Champions" during his March 2 remarks.

Fresno County began implementing CARE Court in December 2024 and has issued 58 petitions since the program started, a rate the state reported as about 6 petitions per 100,000 residents versus a statewide benchmark of 6.2 per 100,000. The state used petitions per 100,000 residents as its single publicly cited metric to compare counties; neighboring Tulare, Placer and Solano were reported to post similar rates but were not named among the governor's bottom 10.

The CalMatters-derived list of 10 counties Newsom said were underperforming includes Los Angeles, Orange, San Francisco, Santa Clara, San Bernardino, Kern, Riverside, Yolo, Monterey and Fresno. Kern County was reported to have about 4 petitions per 100,000, and Kern Behavioral Health and Recovery Services Director Alison Burrowes told reporters the state provided only that petitions-per-100,000 comparison to explain the county's classification, leaving local officials wanting broader context.

Local leaders pushed back on the state's framing. Fresno County officials and policy observers warned that the governor's "technical fixes" and public admonitions do not address deeper needs such as sustained funding and locally tailored implementation strategies. San Francisco officials defended their approach: Charles Lutvak, spokesperson for Mayor Daniel Lurie, said, "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." An unattributed Bender quote published in GV Wire added pressure for action: "We know those methods haven't worked in the past. We see the results of it on our streets every day," Bender said. "Families are devastated by the results of this inaction. CARE Court offers change and we welcome the opportunity to be part of the solution providing that change."

Reporting on the state lists also revealed inconsistencies: one outlet reported San Diego County had the most CARE Court graduates, 10, and stated San Diego "found itself on the list of underperforming counties," a claim that conflicts with the CalMatters list that did not include San Diego. State officials pointed reporters to the state health department for details; the department did not respond to a request for comment, according to coverage.

Newsom framed the effort around both accountability and assistance, saying, "Care and accountability go hand in hand, full stop," while the state simultaneously identified 10 "CARE Champions" — Alameda, Humboldt, Imperial, Marin, Merced, Napa, San Mateo, Santa Barbara, Sutter and Tuolumne — as models. Fresno officials insist that moving from technical mandates to meaningful results will require clearer data, concrete funding commitments and operational support from the Improvement and Coordination Unit if CARE Court is to meet its goals in the county.