As communities across the Bay Area continue to grapple with jarring scenes of human suffering on the street, counties in the region are rolling out new state-mandated mental health courts aimed at getting people with serious psychiatric disorders into treatment and housing.
Statewide, most counties must launch CARE courts — conceived of by Gov. Gavin Newsom as part of a broader update to California’s mental health system — by Dec. 1.
Some counties, including San Francisco and San Mateo, already have the new civil court process up and running. But so far, relatively few people have gone before a judge…