Collaborative Courts

Our Core Values

• High quality and culturally competent services
• Non-adversarial adjudication
• Procedural fairness
• Cross-system collaboration
• Personal accountability
• Respectful, compassionate, kind, and supportive

Our Mission

The San Francisco Superior Court delivers high-quality collaborative justice programs that address addiction, mental health, and other social service needs.

We do this by:

• Behavioral Health Court (BHC): Works with individuals who have serious and persistent mental illness in their efforts toward community reintegration and greater self-sufficiency.
• Community Justice Center (CJC): Bridges the gap between communities and the Court and addresses issues that have led to a participant’s criminal justice involvement through the use of restorative justice and treatment services for substance use, mental health, and other primary health issues; adjudicates clients’ criminal cases from the Tenderloin, Civic Center, Union Square, and South of Market neighborhoods.
• Drug Court (DC): Links non-violent offenders who have substance use disorders to outpatient and/or residential treatment intended to support a life free from substance use.
• Family Treatment Court (FTC): Provides comprehensive, highly coordinated services to families impacted by parental substance use to help them establish stability and prevent children’s re-entry into foster care.
• Intensive Supervision Court (ISC): Provides high-risk high-needs probationers with a “last chance” at community supervision as an alternative to State prison.
• Juvenile Reentry Court (JRC): Enhances public safety and reduces recidivism of youth returning from long-term commitments by providing comprehensive case planning and aftercare services for high-needs youth returning from out-of-home placement and Log Cabin Ranch.
• Veterans Justice Court (VJC): Addresses the specialized needs of veterans facing criminal charges by providing the social service, educational and vocational support they need to lead productive and independent lives.
• Young Adult Court (YAC): Young Adult Court works with transitional-age adult youth (ages 18-25) and includes a range of nonviolent and violent cases.

Find out more about our Collaborative Courts in San Francisco.

Collaborative Court Guidelines

Here is a current version of the Collaborative Court Eligibility Guidelines.

Collaborative Courts Standards

The Bureau of Justice Assistance and other funders strongly emphasize the use of substance abuse and mental health treatment practices that have a demonstrated evidence base and are appropriate for our target population. The San Francisco Superior Court developed Standards for our programs to ensure that the Court is following many of the suggested practices.

Collaborative court schedules

Here is a schedule of the Collaborative Courts currently operating in San Francisco.