On Thursday June 18th at 930am PT, Smart Justice California and California Public Defenders Association are planning a press conference / action for Treatment, Not Jail Cells on the West Steps of the Capitol. The goal of the event is to reframe Mental Health Diversion (MHD) as a common sense and important public safety tool.

Mental Health Diversion is a pretrial intervention that allows individuals charged with qualifying offenses to bypass incarceration and instead enter a mental health treatment program. If the treatment is successfully completed, the court dismisses the charges and the arrest record can typically be sealed, allowing the defendant to avoid a criminal conviction. Instead of immediately going to trial or serving a sentence, the criminal case is paused (typically for 1 to 2 years) while the defendant actively participates in a structured, court-approved treatment plan.

While specific legal requirements vary by jurisdiction, applicants for MHD generally must meet the following baseline conditions:

• Qualifying Diagnosis: The defendant must suffer from a recognized mental health disorder (e.g., schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, PTSD, major depression).
• Contributing Factor: It must be demonstrated (often through a psychological evaluation) that the mental health disorder significantly contributed to the alleged crime.
• Treatment Responsiveness: The individual’s symptoms must be expected to respond to ongoing mental health treatment.
• Public Safety: The judge must determine that the defendant does not pose an unreasonable risk to public safety if treated in the community.
• Defendant Consent: The defendant must agree to participate in the program, comply with treatment, and waive their right to a speedy trial.

Mental Health Diversion has been under attack with a lot of bad legislation in California this year that seeks to make it harder for people to access diversion and treatment programs. To spotlight the drawbacks of these bad-faith legislative efforts, there will be an art installation featuring two 2 doors (yes, two actual doors physically on the West Steps) that people will walk through. One is a revolving door representing mental health crisis and incarceration, which people walk though in a never-ending loop (no MHD). The second is a door that leads to care, accountability, safety, and resolution (MHD).

Event details:

• What: Art action and press conference to draw attention to the importance of mental health diversion and treatment programs vs. criminalization.
• When: Thursday, June 18th 9:30am – 10:30am
• Where: California State Capitol Building in Sacramento, West Steps 
• How: Brief press conference featuring mental health workers, public defenders, mental health diversion program participants, and system impacted people. The press conference will include an action with people walking through one of two doors on the steps to represent either the opportunities of treatment or the revolving door of criminalization and trauma. 

You can register here to participate in the event –>> Treatment Not Jail Cells Press Conference and Art Action