An alternative to the standard justice system, mental health courts partner with policymakers and leaders in the mental health system to provide judicially supervised and community-based treatment programs.
The number of defendants with serious untreated mental illnesses in the criminal justice system has drastically increased in recent years, but traditional court processes prove to be unsuccessful in changing the outcomes for many of these defendants.
Mental health courts provide a team of court staff and mental health professionals that work together to screen and assess defendants, develop treatment plans and supervise offenders. These courts offer defendants the opportunity to avoid incarceration by complying with community supervision and mandated treatment.
current as of January 2013