<p>Hundreds of U.S. courts offer treatment over prison for some defendants with mental illness. But critics say mental health courts have outpaced research on their effectiveness.</p><br><p>Guest(s):</p><ul><li><a href="https://illinoisanswers.org/author/grace-hauck/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Grace Hauck</a>, Investigative reporter, Illinois Answers Project&nbsp;</li><li><a href="https://medschool.umich.edu/profile/239/debra-pinals" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Debra Pinals</a>, Adjunct Clinical Professor of Psychiatry, University of Michigan Medical School and Law School</li></ul><p><br></p><p>Learn more on <a href="https://tradeoffs.org/2026/06/04/mental-health-courts-offer-people-facing-prison-an-imperfect-alternative" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">our website</a>.</p><br><p>Check out our 2025 Impact Report: <a href="https://tradeoffs.org/2025-impact-report/" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">https://tradeoffs.org/2025-impact-report/</a>.</p><br><p>Want more Tradeoffs? Sign up for our free <a href="https://tradeoffs.us3.list-manage.com/subscribe?u=6ab1fc39a0b1b15521551487c&amp;id=89c5edcb93&amp;utm_source=twitter-newsletter-signup&amp;utm_medium=twitter" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">weekly newsletter</a> featuring the latest health policy research and news.</p><br><p>Support this type of journalism today, <a href="https://tradeoffs.org/donate" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">with a gift</a>.</p><hr><p style='color:grey; font-size:0.75em;'> Hosted on Acast. See <a style='color:grey;' target='_blank' rel='noopener noreferrer' href='https://acast.com/privacy'>acast.com/privacy</a> for more information.</p>