New California law addressing mental illness, addiction among homeless delayed by Valley counties. Here’s why

Historic changes to California’s conservatorship law, which will expand who can be placed in involuntary care and treatment in an attempt to address the state’s ongoing homelessness crisis, will have to wait in the Central Valley.

The board of supervisors in San Joaquin and Stanislaus counties have opted to defer the new law, which otherwise would have gone into effect in January. Officials in both counties will now have an additional two years to comply with the changes.