Mental Health Housing Court Program

About the Program

Category: Criminal Justice and Public Safety (Best in Category)

Year: 2021

Mental Health Housing Court Program (MHHC) is a supervision program for adult mentally ill/homeless clients who receive housing and mental health treatment upon release from county jail. In efforts to address the ongoing challenges of servicing the mentally ill, in 2016, the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors (BOS) tasked the Probation Department in collaboration with the Office of Diversion and Re-entry (ODR) to create a program that addresses the needs of mentally ill clients within the criminal justice system. Probation’s Mental Health Housing Court Program’s primary goal is to supervise the mentally ill/homeless population assigned to the Office of Diversion and Re-entry court in the community. The MHHC program also includes collaboration with the Department of Health Services (DHS), Los Angeles County Sheriff, Los Angeles County Superior Courts, Housing for Health, and other community based mental health/housing providers. Community supervision has offered a more rehabilitative focus rather than an exclusively punitive approach to incarceration.