A new mental health program in Texas aims to keep mentally ill offenders in treatment and out of prison.

The program, described this week in the Houston Chronicle, will see State District Judge Jan Krocker working full time in a "mental health court" that aims to steer eligible offenders to the programs they need. To participate, defendants must have been diagnosed with schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or severe depression, according to the Chronicle.

"If you have someone who was arrested 25 times for loitering and trespassing in a year and that person gets on medication and arrests drop to five times a year, that's a success," the Judge told the newspaper.

The Chronicle noted that the program is aimed at saving taxpayer money while emulating some of the more than 150 similar programs that exist elsewhere in the country. So far the program seems to be working, with four percent of participants having had their probation revoked, compared to nearly 30 percent for those not in the program.

The trend helps underscore the growing importance of mental health professionals, as well as the growing demand for jobs in this career field. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, demand for mental health counselors is expected to grow 30 percent between now and 2016, while demand for substance abuse and behavioral disorder specialists is expected to grow at an even faster 34 percent rate.