ABA working to expand and enhance homeless courts in California

The American Bar Association is expanding its commitment to establishing homeless courts through a collaboration with the Judicial Council of California.

The Commission on Homelessness and Poverty (CHP) has been a leader for more than 20 years in replicating the homeless court model across the country, helping to establish around 70 homeless court programs in 21 states.

California, which has homeless courts in 19 of its 58 counties, acknowledged that leadership in a 2020 report from the California Work Group on Homelessness. An “action area” in the report called on the Judicial Council to contract with CHP “to provide training and technical assistance to courts, with the goal of strengthening the homeless court model throughout California.”

That collaboration, called Expanding and Enhancing Homeless Courts Across California, is now underway. So far, Orange County and Long Beach County, which already have homeless courts, are working with CHP to expand and refine their courts, and more are expected to follow.

Homeless courts resolve legal barriers to stability through voluntary, individual  action to satisfy fines and fees and bring about case dismissal. They are a tool to incentivize treatment and help get people off the street with a hand up, not a handout. CHP’s ongoing work ensures that homeless courts can enable clients to alter their trajectory through obtaining education, identification and benefits and removing legal barriers to stability.  For additional information on CHP, visit www.americanbar.org/content/aba-cms-dotorg/en/groups/public_interest/homelessness_poverty.