A unique Allegheny County program designed to help released state prisoners with behavioral health problems to resettle into the community has won one of six $100,000 Innovations in American Government Awards.

The prize won by the Allegheny County State Forensic Program is given by the Ash Institute for Democratic Governance and Innovation at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government, administered in partnership with the Council for Excellence in Government. The $100,000 grants are to encourage replication of the winning programs in other jurisdictions.

The winners, honored yesterday in Washington, D.C., were chosen from more than 1,000 applicants who then were cut to 18 finalists who made presentations to a panel of judges in April.

The county program is 6 years old and is the brainchild of Amy Kroll, director of forensic services in the county Department of Human Services. It serves clients with mental illness, mental retardation, head injuries and addiction problems.

The program has a recidivism rate of just 10.4 percent, compared to a national rate of 61 percent for individuals with behavioral health diagnoses.

"This program enhances public safety and saves taxpayers' money," said Marc Cherna, director of human services for the county. "We're demonstrating that people with mental illness can live productive lives out in the community."

The forensic program is unique in a number of ways, first because the clients meet with Kroll or state forensic support specialist Karen Dickman before they leave prison. That helps ease their fears about returning to society alone.

Other unique services: Clients get temporary housing and three months' rent for a permanent place; they are taken clothes shopping on a $200 budget; they receive bus passes and funds for groceries; and they are placed with a behavioral and health social service like Western Psychiatric Institute and Clinic to be assigned a therapist, psychiatrist and, sometimes, a case manager.

"Allegheny County Forensic Program clearly met our criteria," said Carl Fillichio, vice president of the Council for Excellence in Government. "It's novel; it's not happening in any other jurisdictions.

"It's effective, evident by the results that they have shown. It's addressing a significant problem -- one that we don't talk about enough and that may not be addressed often enough in the criminal justice system. And it's transferable, meaning that this is the type of program that can be replicated in jurisdictions all over the country."