Mental Health Initiatives Take a Primary Role in this Year’s Legislative Successes

(SACRAMENTO) – Senator Richard D. Roth (D-Riverside) acknowledged the tremendous effort by the State Senate this week to move forward a package of mental health bills to address our state’s mental health crisis. 

Building on the Governor Newsom’s proposed CARE Court (Senate Bill 1338), which enacts a framework to deliver mental health and substance use disorder services to the most severely impaired Californians, Senator Roth authored Senate Bill (SB) 1143, which establishes a new funding opportunity for counties to build additional inpatient acute care psychiatric beds for those facing a mental health crisis.

Both of these complimentary initiatives received bipartisan support with a 38-0 approval in the State Senate and will now go to the Assembly. 

Senator Roth declared: “It’s about time. Too often we are witness to members in our community who are struggling, to the point where they become homeless or wrongfully incarcerated, they deserve compassion and understanding of their mental health needs. We must do better to provide them with a proper diagnosis, treatment plan and hospital beds for their care.”

# # #

Senator Richard D. Roth represents the 31st State Senate District, which includes the communities of Corona, Eastvale, Jurupa Valley, March Air Reserve Base, Moreno Valley, Norco, Perris, and Riverside. Prior to his election, he served for 32 years in the United States Air Force, retiring in 2007 in the grade of Major General.