Reentry Courts

How do reentry courts work?

Although reentry courts operate slightly differently across counties, the following program components are common to reentry courts in California. 

  • The reentry court team makes decisions about a participant’s court case. Reentry court teams are led by the judge and usually include a defense attorney, a prosecutor, a parole agent, a probation officer, and treatment staff and/or case managers. 

  • Reentry court participants are assessed for their risk of re-offending and treatment needs. This information is used to create supervision and treatment plans. 

  • The program connects participants to a variety of supports, including mental health treatment, substance use treatment, and housing. 

  • Participants attend scheduled court sessions, usually one to four times a month, to discuss their progress. 

  • The court can recommend early discharge from community supervision when a participant successfully completes the program. Participants usually stay in the program for approximately 12-18 months. 

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2016 Reentry Court Roundtable

The one-day meeting brought together judges, probation and parole officers, service providers, and other people who work in the justice system. They talked about what they have learned, the differences between parole and probation, ways to study and check how things are working, and how to work better together. 

Materials and Resources

Here you will find helpful items from the “Reentry Court Roundtable.” These include articles, presentation slides, sample court forms, information about how programs get money, and a list of people who attended. There is also a flyer from the Department of Health Care Services. It answers common questions, explains what case management is, and tells who might be able to get paid for doing this work. 

2014 Reentry Court Summit

Click this link to see the agenda and materials for the event. The Reentry Court Summit, called "Court Programs and Practices for Working with Reentry, PRCS, and Mandatory Supervision Populations," took place on April 21, 2014, in San Francisco, CA, at the Judicial Council offices. Invitations were sent to courts that already had programs and to those interested in starting one. 

The summit talked about several important topics: 

  • Parolee Reentry Courts 

  • Reentry Courts for people on Mandatory Supervision and PRCS 

  • The Affordable Care Act 

  • The Harlem Reentry Court: A National View 

  • New and creative programs that help people after leaving jail or prison 

  • Probation and Parole Staff 

  • Service Providers