SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — None of the 10 mental health treatment projects expected to open in 2025 under Gov. Gavin Newsom’s $6.4 billion Proposition 1 bond have launched, CalMatters has found. The delays, attributed to supply chain issues, permitting hurdles, and administrative challenges, push back critical care for Californians experiencing homelessness and mental illness.
Newsom promised that thousands of mental health treatment beds would come from the bond, which voters passed narrowly in 2024. But projects in the initial round have hit setbacks, pushing back opening dates by up to two years or leading to cancellations.
The state awarded nearly half of the bond money last spring, kicking off what Newsom described as the fastest distribution of bond funds in California history. When that money rolled out, the state said it expected 10 of the first 124 projects to be finished by the end of last year.
That didn’t happen. CalMatters has confirmed that nine of those projects were delayed, with new completion dates ranging from this summer to summer 2028. One project was cancelled.
The bond is a cornerstone of Newsom’s broader plan to help Californians living on the street with mental illness, and it’s supposed to provide some of the resources necessary for the governor’s other mental health programs to succeed. Without the new in-patient beds, out-patient treatment slots, and housing promised under Prop. 1, programs such as CARE Court, which uses the courts to get more people into treatment, won’t be as effective.
The delays highlight the difficulty of quickly scaling up treatment options to meet demand, as well as the challenges of building anything in California’s expensive and highly competitive real estate market.
“Some of that has been impacted by, candidly, tariffs, supply chain issues,” Newsom said during a news conference Wednesday. “So there’s been some slippage in some of the projects. We’re deeply mindful and aware of that, but we’re just managing that on a daily basis.”
Newsom this week awarded the remaining $1.18 billion from Prop. 1 for new treatment beds and outpatient slots. In all, the bond has funded 177 projects, which are supposed to create 6,919 residential treatment beds (119 more than originally promised) and 27,561 outpatient treatment slots (861 more than promised).
“This is a point that needs to be emphasized: Exceeding the goal in record time,” Newsom said.
But those projects, though they have now been funded, have yet to come to fruition.
Assemblymember Jacqui Irwin, who carried the bond proposal in the Legislature, commended the state for awarding the funds quickly, but said the projects must open as soon as possible.
“While Prop. 1 allows these projects to go from concept to blueprints, they are not immune from supply chain challenges or competition for skilled labor that hinders construction of every type in our state,” Irwin, a Democrat from Thousand Oaks, wrote in an email to CalMatters. “That however does not minimize that the legislature, the executive branch, and the public must demand these facilities open as quickly as possible.”
Delays happened across the state, from Los Angeles to Marin County, for a variety of reasons. In Hollister, a building that was supposed to be purchased with Prop. 1 money was unexpectedly sold to someone else, and the grantee had to scramble to find a new property. Another project in Los Angeles is now expected to be at least two years late because the grantee discovered the building needs seismic retrofitting.
The state’s Department of Health Care Services emphasized that it’s “expected and common” to push back completion dates for large projects. The state checks in regularly with grantees to monitor progress, but doesn’t penalize them just for running into delays. Instead, if a project is falling behind, the state helps resolve construction issues and adjusts its timelines as needed.
“While most construction remains on schedule, some individual project timelines have shifted slightly due to permitting, site conditions, and construction pressures, including supply-chain strain from President Trump’s tariffs,” the department wrote in an email to CalMatters. “These projects are moving forward and will deliver long-term treatment capacity for generations.”
In Placer County, nonprofit Koinonia Family Services was awarded nearly $2 million to create eight beds that would have provided short-term residential care for foster youth. But the nonprofit ultimately declined the grant and cancelled the project. Koinonia said that was because of “changes in state and federal policy” which raised concerns about the project’s long-term sustainability. The nonprofit did not respond to emails asking for more detail.
Other projects ran into administrative hurdles.
In Costa Mesa in Orange County, nonprofit Encompass Housing won $31 million to create 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 winter 2025. Last month, Encompass CEO Deby Wolford said the organization hadn’t even purchased the property yet, because of “some delays” with the bond. She didn’t answer follow-up emails asking for more detail.
Despite the delays, most projects are moving ahead.
In Hollister, the nonprofit Youth Recovery Connections had to scramble when it lost out on its first attempt to purchase a building. The about-face set the project back about a year and a half, 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 Youth Recovery Connections executive director Michael Salinas.
In San Rafael, the Ritter Center won $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 per year. But its current digs — which Ritter has rented for the past 45 years — are getting to be too old and cramped, and it’s starting to show. The center’s “patient navigators,” who greet incoming patients and tell them where to go, sit on folding chairs under a tent outside the building because there’s no room for them inside.
The Ritter Center bought a new building and is using the Prop. 1 money to renovate it and turn it into a state-of-the-art health care facility. It will double its number of exam rooms, double the capacity of its food pantry and move its patient navigators indoors.
The project should open this summer, about six months later than the initial projection.
“When people go to a low-income clinic or a place to get social services