Offenders with mental illnesses are referred to the court by lawyers, judges, police officers, treatment providers and family members when their criminal behavior is driven by mental illness. They may also self-refer.
A clinician assesses offenders for a qualifying mental illness or other serious functional impairment that has led to the commission of the crime, such as psychosis, major mood disorder, obsessive-compulsive disorder, severe post-traumatic stress disorder and severe personality disorder.
“We also will accept people with developmental disabilities and traumatic brain injury,” said Bob Wolford, director of offender services at the Howard Center. “The only disqualifier is if someone is assessed as incompetent.” Alleged felons, violent criminals and drug dealers are also excluded from the program.
Qualifying offenders work with a case managers to develop a treatment plan, which may include counseling sessions, substance abuse plans, job placement or continued education.
The program’s rules require clients to attend scheduled court and treatment sessions, agree to random drug and alcohol testing, avoid associating with people who use illegal substances, keep the court informed of their whereabouts and avoid weapons possession.
The program consists of three stages, each at least three months long. During the first phase, clients check in with the court once a week. In the second, they check in once every two weeks, and in the third phase, once every three or four weeks. Theoretically, participants could “graduate” in nine months, but in practice, graduation takes most clients about a year and a half.
“Mental health court people stay a lot longer than they do in drug court,” Wolford observed. “In part, it’s because what the mental health court does for some clients is give them predictability, consistency, affirmation and validation.”
Some clients continue to drop into court to chat with the judge even when they no longer have to. “In my 38 years of being involved in human services, this is my favorite project,” Wolford said, “because what I see happening is a number of people who have never received any public affirmation, any validation – they get it now.”
Copyright, Vtdigger.org
