Special courts that sentence people with mental illnesses who are
convicted of misdemeanors and low-level felonies to treatment instead
of jail have the potential to save taxpayers money, according to a RAND
Corporation study conducted for the Council of State Governments
Justice Center.

"Justice, Treatment, and Cost: An Evaluation of the Fiscal Impact of
Allegheny County Mental Health Court," was funded by the Pennsylvania
Department of Public Welfare and the Staunton Farm Foundation. The
study issued on Thursday by RAND, a nonprofit research organization, is
the first to look at the fiscal impact of a mental health court
anywhere in the United States.

http://www.rand.org/news/press.07/03.01.html