County supervisors postponed implementing a state conservatorship expansion law after hospitals warned it could overwhelm San Diego emergency rooms.
Yet there hasn’t been a dramatic influx of patients in the months since the county implemented the state law in January, just over a year after supervisors considered whether to immediately implement it or hold off.
SB 43 aimed to make it easier to force people with severe substance use disorders into treatment. It also allowed holds or conservatorships in instances where someone failed to access needed medical care. The 2023 law gave counties the option to postpone implementation until 2026. San Diego County decided to move forward this January to allow more time to institute training and new services to meet an expected spike in demand for them. The decision drew praise from advocates concerned about patients’ civil liberties and criticism from others including San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria, who argued the region needed another tool to aid people languishing on the streets…