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Pennsylvania Judiciary Highlights Mental Health Courts During Mental Health Awareness Month

News Article

May 29, 2018

May is recognized as Mental Health Awareness Month and with 20 mental health courts in Pennsylvania, the infographic below highlights key data related to mental health courts – such as 56 percent of all discharges graduated successfully and 78 percent graduated in two years or less. 

Mental health courts link key justice system officials with leaders in the mental health system to divert offenders with severe mental illness into a judicially supervised program. These 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. Mental health courts offer defendants the opportunity to avoid incarceration by complying with community supervision and mandated treatment.

A high-resolution file of the graphic is available for download at www.pacourts.us under Media Resources.

PA Courts InfoShare is a monthly product of the Administrative Office of Pennsylvania Courts (AOPC) that visually highlights the work of the courts with interesting data and statistics obtained through the judiciary’s case management systems, interactive dashboards and other research. Reproduction is permissible with source cited.

 

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Media contact:   Kimberly Bathgate, 717-231-3331