"Anecdotal evidence abounds about the benefits of mental health courts. Advocates say these programs of close monitoring and mandated treatment keep nonviolent offenders with mental illnesses out of prison and connect them with therapy, medication, structure -- even help with housing and jobs.

By graduation, many participants in the DuPage County Mental Illness Court Alternative Program are teary-eyed, "thanking the police officers for arresting them and saying how the program has changed their lives," program manager Jean Solon said.

But until a new state data recording requirement kicks in fully next year, statistics proving these courts keep communities safer and help people with mental conditions stabilize their lives are hard to find."

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