Thousands participate in Illinois mental health courts. Half graduate. Millions are left out

Touted as an effective way to keep people out of the prison system, mental health courts have expanded across the country over the past two decades. But in southern Illinois, around two million residents don’t have access to them. The Illinois Answers Project and MindSite News spent months reaching out to every court in the state for data and updates on their mental health courts. The investigation found "a promising model with limited funds supporting small oases in an otherwise barren desert." Illinois Answers Project reporter Grace Hauck and Tony Ohlhausen, director of research and policy at NAMI Illinois, share their insights into the state of Illinois’ mental health court system, including the programs in the Metro East in Madison and St. Clair counties.