Yesterday, during the second meeting of the Community Assistance, Recovery and Empowerment (CARE) Act Working Group, the California Health and Human Services Agency (CalHHS) publicly announced the addition of Santa Cruz County Supervisor Zach Friend to membership on the Working Group. Supervisor Friend, who also serves as Chair of the CSAC Health and Human Services Policy Committee, will bring an important voice and perspective to the Working Group membership, which currently consists of 31 members listed here, including six county representatives noted below:

• Khatera Aslami – Alameda County Behavioral Health Care Services
• Susan Holt – Fresno County Behavioral Health
• Dr. Veronica Kelley – Orange County Mental Health and Recovery Services
• Chevon Kothari – Sacramento County Social Services
• Tracie Riggs – Tuolumne County Administration Office
• Bill Stewart – San Diego County Behavioral Health Advisory Board, Chair

A provision of the CARE Act requires CalHHS to convene a Working Group to provide coordination and ongoing engagement with, and support collaboration among, relevant state and local partners and other stakeholders throughout the phases of county implementation to support the successful implementation of the CARE Act. The Working Group is to meet no more than quarterly and is to end no later than December 31, 2026.

On Wednesday, May 17, CalHHS hosted the second quarterly CARE Act Working Group meeting in collaboration with the Department of Health Care Services and the Judicial Council of California. Topics discussed at the meeting include:

• CARE Act implementation update
• Overview of Judicial Council Rules and Forms for the CARE Act
• CARE Act data collection, reporting, and evaluation approach
• Potential initial time-limited ad hoc sub-group categories and objectives

The meeting notice and agenda are posted here. Materials for all Working Group meetings, as well as general information about the Working Group, are available on the CARE Act Working Group webpage.