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When CARE Court finally launched in her county, Deplazes spent three days filling out paperwork. The process was so complex she needed volunteers and law library staff just to finish the application.
After all that, the judge rejected her request.
Her son’s needs, the court ruled, were “higher than we provide for.”
“They did nothing to help us,” Deplazes said.
“It was just another round of hope and defeat.”
The Numbers Reveal a Program That Barely Functions
By October, California courts had received 3,092 CARE Court petitions.
Almost half were dismissed outright.
Of the remaining cases, 706 resulted in CARE plans or agreements. But the fine print tells the real story.
684 of those were voluntary.
The core purpose of CARE Court was compulsory treatment for those incapable of recognizing their illness. That is what lawmakers sold to voters and families.
After $236 million, only 22 people received court-ordered treatment.
That works out to more than $10 million per person.
Bureaucracy Thrives While Families Collapse
During her time navigating CARE Court, Deplazes noticed something disturbing.
Courtrooms packed with public defenders, administrators, judges, case managers, and support staff. Weekly meetings. Endless paperwork. Ceremonies. Salaries.
“They’re getting paid – a lot,” Deplazes said.
Senior administrators overseeing the program earn six-figure incomes while families wait months for action that never comes.
“I saw it was just a money maker for the court and everyone involved,” she said.
Political activist Kevin Dalton summed it up bluntly: “$236 million and all you have to show for it is 22 people?”
California’s Homeless Spending Keeps Rising. So Does Homelessness.
CARE Court is not an isolated failure.
Since Newsom took office in 2019, California has spent between $24 billion and $37 billion on homelessness programs.
During that same period, the state’s homeless population increased by roughly 30,000 people.
State auditors found that California does not properly track where the money goes or whether programs work. The California Interagency Council on Homelessness has not conducted a full spending analysis since mid-2021.
Nearly one-third of people who exited state-funded placements disappeared into “unknown” outcomes.
Counties Prepared. The Referrals Never Came.
Local governments were told to brace for a surge of CARE Court cases.
San Diego County hired nearly two dozen staff members, including clinicians and psychologists. County funds were spent in anticipation of heavy demand.
That demand never arrived.
The system was so complicated that police officers, first responders, and clinicians struggled to complete referrals or attend mandatory court hearings.
A Former LA District Attorney Explains Why This Keeps Happening
Former Los Angeles County District Attorney Steve Cooley says the outcome was predictable.
“Almost all government programs where there’s money involved, there’s going to be fraud, and there’s going to be people who take advantage of it,” Cooley said.
The real failure, he explained, is structural.
“Where the federal government, the state government and the county government have all failed is they do not build in preventative mechanisms,” Cooley said.
He has seen the same pattern in Medicare, hospice care, child services, infrastructure, and now homelessness.
“They’re all subject to fraud,” Cooley said.
“And there’s very little being done about it by local authorities.”
One welfare official told him directly: “Our job isn’t to detect fraud, it’s to give the money out.”
Newsom Blames Local Governments As His Program Collapses
When state auditors exposed the lack of accountability in California’s homelessness spending, Newsom pivoted.
He blamed cities and counties and threatened to withhold funding if they failed to show progress.
“I’m not interested in funding failure any longer,” Newsom declared.
That statement came from the same governor whose CARE Court delivered a 99.8 percent failure rate on its central promise.
Local officials say they cannot build long-term solutions when funding is handed out year by year instead of through stable commitments.
Families Are Still Paying the Price
Deplazes’ son remains trapped in the same cycle. He is currently incarcerated and facing release soon.
She fears decades of systemic failure may have already done irreversible damage.
Still, she refuses to stay silent.
“We’re not going to let the government just tell us, ‘We’re not helping you anymore,’” Deplazes said.
As California pours billions more into homelessness programs, CARE Court stands as a sobering example of how bureaucracy grows, money flows, and families are left exactly where they started.
