Humboldt Officials Call SB 43 Unworkable, Favor Voluntary CARE Court Pathway

Humboldt County leaders told the Board of Supervisors that a new state law expanding involuntary mental health holds to include severe substance use disorder is largely unworkable, and the county will instead prioritize voluntary treatment pathways such as CARE Court. That choice will shape how local agencies respond to addiction and homelessness across the North Coast.

County Behavioral Health Deputy Director Paul Bugnacki told supervisors that the state lacks the necessary treatment infrastructure to support involuntary SUD holds. He said the law has been in effect since January 1, but Humboldt has used it for only one involuntary hold. Bugnacki summed up the county’s view: “the state does not have the infrastructure to support those types of holds.”

Officials presented an alternative grounded in relationships between people experiencing addiction and local providers. That approach centers on CARE Court, a civil process that allows community members to petition for a structured, court-supervised treatment plan without criminal prosecution. County staff said Humboldt has been a local leader in CARE Court petition numbers and implementation, and they framed CARE Court as a more practical on-ramp to treatment than mandating care through detention.

A county representative identified in the briefing as Ward added a second set of concerns about involuntary treatment. “There are no facilities in California where somebody detained on a legal hold can go and get mandated treatment,” Ward continued. “Nor is it empirically supported in the data around the efficacy of mandated SUD (Substance Use Disorder) treatment. Our approach really is to focus in on the individual, developing a relationship with those individuals to help them to get to a place where they are voluntarily willing to go into treatment.”

Department of Health and Human Services staff also outlined investments intended to expand voluntary response capacity. A Crisis Triage Center planned in Arcata is scheduled to open in 2027, and the county plans to expand the Mobile Intervention Services Team, known locally as MIST. Supervisors discussed the interlocking challenges of housing availability, addiction, and the funding needed for permanent supportive housing as critical parts of any sustainable response.

For Humboldt residents, the county’s emphasis on voluntary care means more court-supervised treatment referrals and outreach-focused teams rather than routine involuntary detentions. It also shifts attention to housing-first strategies and local capacity building while state law sets new legal tools that local officials say they cannot operationalize without more beds and treatment programs.

What comes next for the community is a multi-year rollout: more CARE Court petitions, expanded MIST outreach, and the Arcata Crisis Triage Center slated for 2027. Residents should expect county staff to continue prioritizing voluntary, housing-first responses as the primary pathway for addressing homelessness and severe substance use disorder.