Give people mental health care instead of jail time

Over nine years in this role I have helped connect thousands to treatment. I’ve seen what works and what doesn’t.

In my experience, what works is the kind of help provided by the L.A. County Office of Diversion and Reentry. ODR has built a track record — supported by data — of moving people with mental health issues out of jail and onto a path to permanent supportive housing, keeping them off the streets and out of hospitals and incarceration long term.

Unfortunately, ODR is not funded sufficiently to serve everyone who could benefit from its programs. Of the more than 13,500 people in Los Angeles County’s jail system, 41% have serious mental health issues, a percentage that has increased in recent years. That percentage also includes a higher proportion of Black people than does the overall jail population.

ODR’s housing program was capped at 2,200 slots, which it filled over a year ago. The L.A. County Board of Supervisors debated a motion in late June to increase the number of slots to 2,700 by July 1, 2023. Instead of committing to that modest first step, it passed a motion that calls for further study of potential expansion. This is a missed opportunity to expand ODR’s valuable work.

ODR’s housing program has been unable to accept any new cases from criminal courts for over a year. I don’t speak for my colleagues or for the Los Angeles County Superior Court, but I do know this pause on the program has been a huge source of frustration for my fellow judges.

ODR continues to offer other programs to hundreds of people who are referred from criminal court to my mental health court. But inadequate funding for the office overall means that sometimes a case must be dismissed from my courtroom and the person is released from jail back onto our streets — often with no treatment or support.

It doesn’t make sense to feed that cycle by delaying the expansion of an approach we already know works.

James Bianco is a California Superior Court judge who has been assigned to the Mental Health Courthouse in Los Angeles since 2013.