10 projects from Newsom’s mental health bond should open by 2025. It didn’t happen

None of the projects under Gov. Gavin Newsom’s mental health ballot measure have opened in 2025, CalMatters found, even though the governor says the bond is exceeding its goals.

Newsom promised to pull thousands of mental health treatment beds from Proposition 1, the $6.4 billion California bond passed by California voters by a narrow margin in 2024. But projects in the first phase have been delayed, in some cases pushing back opening dates by two years, or canceled.

The state paid off nearly half of the bond last spring, triggering what Newsom described as the fastest disbursement of bond funds in California history. When the money was spent, the government said it expected 10 of those first 124 projects to be completed by the end of last year.

It didn’t happen. CalMatters confirmed that nine of those projects have been delayed, with new completion dates ranging from this summer to summer 2028. A project has been cancelled.

The bond is the cornerstone of Newsom’s broader plan to help Californians living on the streets with mental illness, and it should provide the resources needed to make the governor’s other mental health programs a success. Without the new inpatient beds, inpatient treatment facilities and housing promised under Proposition 1, programs like CARE Courts, which use courts to treat more people, will not be as effective.

The delay in getting the Prop 1 project underway highlights the difficulty of ramping up treatment options to meet the demand for mental health care in California, as well as the challenges of building anything in the state’s expensive and highly competitive real estate market.

They also mean some of the state’s most vulnerable residents will have to wait longer for help.

Newsom said during a press conference on Wednesday that the agency has tried to expedite the Pro 1 project by easing some of the permitting and other hurdles. But he acknowledged that there are obstacles.

“Some of them are obviously affected by tariffs, supply chain issues,” he said. “So there’s something wrong with some of the projects. We think deeply about it and understand it, but we’re just managing it day-to-day.”

Newsom this week at Pro. The remaining $1.18 billion from 1 paid for new intensive care beds and outpatient slots. In all, the bond funded 177 projects, which created 6,919 inpatient treatment beds (119 more than the original commitment) and 27,561 outpatient treatment slots (861 more than the commitment).

“That’s one point that needs to be emphasized: Reaching the goal in record time,” Newsom said.

Although these projects have been funded, they have not yet been implemented.

Assemblyman Jackie Irwin, who introduced the bond proposal in the Legislature, praised the state for quickly disbursing the funds, but said the projects should be opened sooner.

“While Pro. 1 allows these projects to go from concept to blueprint, they are not immune to the supply chain challenges or competition for skilled labor that prevent any construction in our state,” Irwin, a Democrat from Thousand Oaks, wrote in an email to CalMatters. “However, this does not diminish the fact that the Legislature, the Executive Branch, and the public must demand that these facilities be opened as soon as possible.”

Delays occurred across the state, from Los Angeles to Marin County, for a variety of reasons. In Hollister, a building that was supposed to be Prop. 1 was bought with money was unexpectedly sold to someone else, and the grantee had to stop to find a new property. Another project in Los Angeles is now expected to be at least two years late because the donor found the building needed seismic retrofitting.

The state’s Department of Health Care Services stressed that it is “expected and common” for major projects to push back completion dates. The government regularly meets with donors to monitor progress, but does not penalize them for delays. Instead, if a project is behind schedule, the government helps resolve construction issues and adjusts its schedule as needed.

“While most construction remains on schedule, some individual project timelines have changed slightly due to permitting, site conditions, and construction pressures, including supply chain pressure from President Trump’s tariffs,” the department wrote in an email to CalMatters. “These projects are moving forward and will provide long-term therapeutic potential for generations.”

In Placer County, the nonprofit Quinonia Family Services has been awarded nearly $2 million to build eight beds that will provide short-term residential care for foster youth. But the nonprofit ultimately declined the grant and canceled the project. Koinonia said this was due to “state and federal policy changes” that raised concerns about the long-term sustainability of the project. The nonprofit did not respond to emails seeking further details.

Other projects have faced administrative hurdles.

In Costa Mesa, Orange County, the nonprofit Encompass Housing won $31 million to build 50 beds where new mothers who need mental health and substance use treatment can stay with their babies. The project initially had an estimated completion date of late winter 2025. Last month, Encompass CEO Deby Wolford said the organization hadn’t even bought the property because of “some delays” with the bond. She did not respond to follow-up emails asking for more details.

Despite the delay, many projects are moving forward.

In Hollister, the nonprofit Youth Recovery Connections had to stop when it lost its first attempt to buy a building. The project on the front made it about a year and a half ago, but it came with a silver lining. The new building the nonprofit intends to buy is bigger — with double the office space where patients can be seen — and actually costs a little less, according to Michael Salinas, executive director of the Youth Recovery Connection.

In San Rafael, the Ritter Center raised $10.5 million to open 1,370 treatment slots. The nonprofit already provides mental health care and other support to more than 2,500 homeless and precariously housed clients annually. But its current digs — which Ritter has rented for the past 45 years — are getting old and shabby, and it’s starting to show. The center’s “patient navigators,” who greet incoming patients and tell them where to go, sit outside the building on chairs under a tent because there is no room for them inside.

Ritter Center bought a new building and Prof. 1 is using the money to renovate and turn it into a modern health center. It will double the number of its exam rooms, double the capacity of its food pantry and move patient navigators in-house.

The project should open this summer, about six months later than originally estimated.

“When people go to a low-income clinic or a place to get social services and it’s taken away, it doesn’t reflect the broader community, it says something about what you deserve or what the community’s values ​​are,” said Cynthia Lee Monds, director of development for the Ritter Center. “So by having this prestigious facility, we’re really making sure that we’re providing our patients and customers with the very best services that they can get.”

In addition to expanding treatment capacity, the first proposal also provides funding for permanent housing for people with mental illness and substance use disorders through the Governor’s Homekey+ program. So far, the state has awarded $768 million to build 2,260 homes, including 545 designated for veterans. The first of these projects will be completed this summer.

In addition, the ballot measure changes other mental health funding priorities. These states want to fund housing rather than other services with a portion of the revenue they receive from a millionaire’s tax on high-income earners for mental health care. This will require some financial gymnastics from countries, which are in between raising funds from existing programs that are no longer a priority — such as suicide prevention, mental health hotlines, anti-stigma campaigns and more — and spending money on housing.

San Diego County has already identified 29 programs to close.

The initial idea was for counties to fill the gaps with Medi-Cal funds, said Michelle Cabrera, executive director of the Association of County Behavioral Health Directors. But with recent federal cuts to Medicaid, that’s no longer feasible, she said.

“There will be challenging times ahead,” Cabrera said, “certainly some programs will have to be scaled back or cut entirely.”

This story was reported with support from the Roslyn Carter Fellowship for Mental Health Journalism.

This story was originally published by CalMatters and is distributed in partnership with The Associated Press.