(The Center Square) – Maricopa County has partnered with the city of Phoenix to launch a new pilot program to help people facing eviction.
The Eviction Diversion Pilot Program will focus on Phoenix ZIP codes with the highest level of eviction cases.
According to Maricopa County Board of Supervisors Chair Kate Brophy McGee, county justice courts have processed over 80,000 eviction filings for three consecutive years.
“This pilot [program] aims to address our eviction crisis head-on with interventions that are sustainable and effective. They are a hand up, not a hand out,” she said.
Tamara Bridwell, the director of Maricopa County Human Services, told The Center Square that the program would allow the courts to “intervene to see if a landlord is willing to participate” in it.
If the landlord decides to participate in the program, the county “would pay back rent on behalf of the tenant,” with the funds coming from a third party, she said.
In these situations, the third party could be a nonprofit or governmental agency, Bridwell said.
She noted the county is modeling its eviction program after the Texas Eviction Diversion Program, which was used during the COVID-19 pandemic to help Texans pay rent and prevent evictions. The program ended in 2023.
Texas’ program used early eviction techniques and collaborated with state courts, landlords, tenants and others.
According to Bridwell, a stakeholder work group has been working on the county’s program since November 2025. The work group includes a mix of nonprofits, private businesses and local government entities, she added.
Bridwell said what the program will look like is still being worked out.
The work group is requesting a one-time budget adjustment of $800,000 for the county’s Fiscal Year 2027 budget, Bridwell noted. Maricopa County’s full budget will be passed on June 22.
The program could help an estimated 200 households avoid eviction, Bridwell told The Center Square
The county wants to “serve as many households” as it can, but the program is small, she said.
Maricopa County seeks to ensure the program can be implemented locally and will “yield the best results for all parties involved,” such as families, landlords and courts, Bridwell said.
She added that the county will collect data on the program to determine whether it can expand it in the future.
Vice Mayor Kesha Hodge Washington said eviction, along with housing, disrupts “employment, education, health and entire neighborhoods.”
“The data is clear: Preventative measures such as eviction diversion are far more effective and cost-efficient than relying on after-the-fact interventions to address displacement and homelessness,” she said.
Bridwell said she did not think the program would hurt landlords because they have been a part of the work group.
“We feel strongly that we’re going to build a program that helps alleviate the impact of evictions,” she said.
“Landlords in Maricopa County face substantial financial losses every time an eviction occurs,” she said.
Bridwell added that the program helps stabilize matters between tenants and landlords by providing access to supportive services.
