Highlighting Pa.'s Mental Health Courts

The Pennsylvania courts released this info-graphic highlighting data from the state's mental health courts in recognition of May being Mental Heath Awareness Month.

In 2019, 61 percent of all discharged participants graduated successfully from these treatment programs and among those graduates, there was a 134 percent increase in employment.

Mental health courts link key justice system officials with leaders in the mental health system to divert offenders with severe mental illness into a judicially supervised program. These courts provide a team of court staff and mental health professionals that work together to screen and assess defendants, develop treatment plans and supervise offenders.

Mental health courts offer defendants the opportunity to avoid incarceration through the completion of a rigorous program that requires compliance with community supervision and mandated treatment.