05/05/2025
May is Mental Health Awareness Month. In honor of that we'd like to formally introduce ourselves as a certified Mental Health Court here in Illinois.
Who are we? KCMHC is a problem-solving treatment court with the mission to support MHC participants to achieve successful return to society, reduce recidivism, increase public safety, and improve the participant’s quality of life.
What we do: This is an opportunity for qualified criminally justice involved defendants to choose mental health treatment as an alternative to traditional probation or jail. Defendants who qualify and are accepted into KCMHC receive treatment, focused probation services, and access to other supportive resources in collaboration with our specialized Mental Health Court Team.
Who qualifies: An adult defendant (18 years or older) who resides in Kankakee County with pending Kankakee County qualified criminal charges and who has a DSMV diagnosis of a mental illness (determined by Kankakee Probation MHC evaluation process). Admittance to KCMHC is not a right and there is a screening and evaluation process to determine qualified and appropriate individuals for participation in the 2 year MHC probation program.
Goal: KCMHC’s goal is to improve public safety by reducing recidivism by improving the quality of life of people with mental health issues, increasing their participation in effective treatment, and reducing court and corrections related costs by providing an alternative to incarceration.
If you or someone you know is interested in treatment for Mental Health as an alternative to traditional criminal sentencing, please contact your public defender or private attorney to start the referral process.
