It’s been three months since California voters overwhelmingly approved Proposition 36, a new law that pledged to provide “mass treatment” for those facing certain drug charges. But since the law took effect on Dec. 18, some counties are scrambling to fulfill that promise, CalMatters reports. Now, prosecutors have the ability to charge people convicted of various third-time drug offenses with a so-called treatment-mandated felony, which would direct them to substance use disorder or mental health treatment in lieu of up to three years in jail or prison. But as some counties struggle to implement the mandate without new funding or, according to people involved in enforcing the law, sufficient resources, more and more people are being charged without a clear path to the treatment that the law was supposed to offer. CalMatters spoke with judges, district attorneys, public defenders and behavioral health experts in counties of various sizes that have started enforcing the new law. As of Feb. 4, nearly 30 people have been charged with the treatment-mandated felony in Yolo County. In Stanislaus County, roughly 140 people have been charged with the new felony as of Feb. 10. And in Orange County, that number has passed 500 as of Feb. 7.
At an early glance, CalMatters learned of a handful of people who have been placed in treatment since the law took effect. That number could increase in the weeks ahead as people move through their court process and the law is further implemented. A person can accept treatment at any point between their arraignment and jury trial. While enthusiasm for the new law runs high from prosecutors and law enforcement, the machinery of government hasn’t quite caught up. The text of the measure did not spell out the details of how courts would implement Prop. 36, forcing court administrators, judges, district attorneys, behavioral health experts, probation officers and public defenders to quickly stand up new processes as many people are charged and incarcerated. Treatment is “the greatest obstacle,” said Santa Clara County Superior Court Judge, Stephen Manley, who founded the county’s mental health treatment court and co-founded its drug court. “We simply do not have the treatment in this state,” he said. “When you can’t place people in treatment, what is the alternative?” The measure came with no funding. That’s one of the reasons why Gov. Gavin Newsom opposed the initiative. “It’s about mass incarceration, not mass treatment,” Newsom said at a press conference in September. “What an actual insult it is to say it’s about mass treatment when there’s not a dollar attached to it.” The Legislative Analyst’s Office estimated the measure would cost tens to hundreds of millions of dollars a year in increased criminal justice costs. Republican state lawmakers who backed Prop. 36 wrote a letter to Newsom in December urging him to commit more funding.
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