Merced court receives funding to fight recidivism

A grant of more than $500,000 has been awarded to the Merced County Superior Court to help reduce the number of repeat offenders coming through the criminal justice system by helping some receive mental health treatment.

The $582,877 comes from the Recidivism Reduction Fund Court Grant Program. The award was approved by the Judicial Council of California last week, court officials said in a news release.

“The key objective is to prevent the incarceration of mentally ill offenders and reduce recidivism by securing their release from jail for appropriate community intervention and treatment services,” officials said in the statement. “The awarded funds will be used to enhance the existing program and provide much needed services.”

The Merced Superior Court was one of 27 courts statewide that received grant funds.

This story was originally published February 23, 2015 at 1:15 PM with the headline "Merced court receives funding to fight recidivism."