The program could divert people facing criminal charges to Mental Health Treatment Court or other options. This is part of a coordinated response that Santa Clara County Supervisors called for in 2022 — after declaring a public health crisis.
Right now, defendants in felony cases usually wait from six to nine months for their case to end, before they can access the Mental Health Treatment Court. With the new program, this could happen as soon as their first appearance in court.
The Mental Health Treatment court was launched in 1998. It assesses if people facing charges have a mental health condition.
So now if a defendant meets certain criteria at their arraignment hearing, Courts can then create a plan to get them into services while incarcerated. Or they’ll be released so they can go into a treatment program and find housing options in the community instead.
Right now, officials are limiting the program to 10 defendants a week so the system doesn’t get overwhelmed. One of the supervisors, Otto Lee, says he hopes this will “reduce needless and costly incarceration and ensure people get help when they need it most.”