JMHCP Grantee (2010) -- Fairfield County Municipal Mental Health Court

Quick Facts:

Date accepted first participant:
01/01/05
Mental health docket frequency:
Weekly
Number of participants per year:
0-50
Clinical eligibility criteria:
  • The court accepts participants with any Axis I or Axis II mental health diagnoses
  • The court accepts participants with Axis I diagnoses if the diagnoses correspond to state criteria for “serious and / or persistent mental illness”
    • Clinical exclusion criteria:
      Legal eligibility criteria:
    • Ordinance offenses / violations
    • Misdemeanors
    • Misdemeanor probation violations
      • Case disposition upon successful program completion:
    • Participants' charges may be dismissed upon successful completion
      • Case disposition upon unsuccessful program completion:
      • Participants must serve their deferred sentence
      • Participants are returned to the court of original jurisdiction for case processing
      • Participants' cases are processed by the mental health court for charges that were held in abeyance
      Court and service components funded by:
      • Municipal funds
      • Court fees

      JMHCP Grantee Information

      Grant Year
      2010

      JMHCP Grantee (2010) -- Fairfield County Municipal Mental Health Court

      Contact:

      Name:
      Joel Carter
      Title:
      Mental Health Court Program Manager
      Organization:
      Fairfield County Municipal Mental Health Court
      Address:
      104 East Main St.
      Lancaster, OH 43130
      Email:
      jcarter@fairfieldcountymunicipalcourt.org
      Phone:
      740-687-6686

      JMHCP Grantee (2010) -- Fairfield County Municipal Mental Health Court

      General: Jurisdiction, History, and Planning

      Grantee Year:
      Rural
      Other collaborative criminal justice/mental health initiatives in community:
      Crisis Intervention Team Training
      Date accepted first participant:
      01/01/05
      Mental health docket frequency:
      Weekly
      Number of participants per year:
      0-50
      Planning and oversight/advisory group:
    • The court had a planning committee that has evolved into an oversight/advisory capacity
      • Oversight group members:
    • Line-level law enforcement official
    • Community mental health service provider
    • Substance abuse treatment provider
    • Supervisory-level law enforcement official
    • Judicial officer (e.g. a judge or magistrate)
    • Court administrator / program director
    • Prosecutor
    • Public defender

      • Eligibility Criteria

      Clinical eligibility criteria:
    • The court accepts participants with any Axis I or Axis II mental health diagnoses
    • The court accepts participants with Axis I diagnoses if the diagnoses correspond to state criteria for “serious and / or persistent mental illness”
      • Clinical exclusion criteria:
        Establishment of clinical eligibility criteria:
      • They were established in consultation with mental health treatment providers
      • They were established with an understanding of the jurisdiction's treatment capacity
        • Legal eligibility criteria:
      • Ordinance offenses / violations
      • Misdemeanors
      • Misdemeanor probation violations
        • Effect of criminal history on eligibility:
      • No
        • Degree to which crime victims are involved in court processes:
        Victims are not involved in court processes
        Reasons for lack of victim involvement in court processes:
      • The court's rules regarding participant confidentiality limit victims' rights to notification and participation in the court program

        • Court Team and Training

        Personnel who participate in case staffings:
        • Judicial officer (e.g. judge or magistrate)
        • Court administrator / program director
        • Treatment provider or case manager employed by the court
        • Treatment provider or case manager employed by community mental health service provider
        • Community supervision officer (probation or parole)
        Job orientation:
        Staff are oriented on-the-job
        Ongoing training:
      • Yes, there is funding support for staff to attend training sessions.
        • Training topics:
        • Overview of mental illness (e.g. recognizing symptoms or medications)
        • Integrated mental health and substance abuse treatment
        • Local mental health services and community treatment capacity
        • Trauma issues
        • Victim's issues
        • Substance abuse treatment

        Participant Information

        Primary sources of referrals:
      • Law enforcement
      • Mental health / substance abuse treatment providers
      • Family/friends of the defendant
      • Defendants themselves (self-referral)
      • Probation officers
      • Judges
        • Mental health screening conducted by:
      • Community mental health service provider
      • Probation officer
        • Mental health assessment conducted by:
      • Community mental health service provider
      • Staff of mental health court
        • Point at which full mental health assessment conducted:
        Before eligibility is determined

        Terms and Duration of Participation

        Legal mechanism by which participants are accepted into court program:
      • Participants' charges are held in abeyance and then dismissed upon successful program completion
      • Participants plead guilty and have their sentence deferred
      • Participants are sentenced to participation after committing a probation violation
      • Participants opt into the court after committing a probation violation
        • Case disposition upon successful program completion:
      • Participants' charges may be dismissed upon successful completion
        • Case disposition upon unsuccessful program completion:
        • Participants must serve their deferred sentence
        • Participants are returned to the court of original jurisdiction for case processing
        • Participants' cases are processed by the mental health court for charges that were held in abeyance
        Terms of participation:
        They are individualized based on the offense and the clinical diagnosis
        The court uses a formal, standard written contract for all participants:
        No
        Minimum and maximum periods of participation:
        • 2 yrs max
        Average length of participation:
        1 year to 2 years

        Confidentiality and Informed Choice

        The court obtains written consent to release personal information:
        Yes, participants sign an initial release upon joining the program and subsequent releases when additional information is requested or shared
        Court-supervised treatment becomes part of the participants' criminal record:
        No
        The court has standard protocols for establishing legal competence of potential participants:
        No, the state determines legal competence before an individual is referred to the court program
        Length of time to assess participants' legal competence
        One week
        After assessment of legal competence, length of time before assessment of clincial competence:
        72 hours
        Defense counsel helps potential participants decide whether to enter the court:
        Yes

        Monitoring, Supervision, Treatment, and Adherence

        Monitoring and supervision of participants primarily performed by:
        Court team members mental health background
        Services available to court participants:
      • Emergency psychiatric services (crisis stabilization)
      • Assistance in locating housing
      • Assistance in accessing benefits (e.g. Medicaid, SSI, SSDI, veterans)
      • Transportation (e.g. bus fare, rides to program-related appointments)
      • Civil (legal) services assistance
      • Outpatient mental health treatment
      • Substance abuse treatment (independent from mental health treatment)
      • Integrated substance abuse and mental health treatment
      • Medication management
      • Individual psychotherapy
      • Group psychotherapy
        • Court-supported services available after program completion:
        Yes
        Rewards and incentives applied to participants who adhere to terms of treatment plans:
      • Certificates or other tokens for completing stages of treatment
      • Graduation ceremonies
      • Praise from the judge
      • Increased time between status hearings
      • Food items or gift certificates from local businesses
      • Reduced/waived fees for probation supervision or drug testing
        • Sanctions applied to participants who do not adhere to terms of treatment plans:
        • Jail
        • Expulsion from the program
        • Modifications in treatment plan (e.g. more frequent appointments with a case manager, adjustment to medications, increased drug screening, etc.)
        • Judicial reprimands
        • Increased frequency of status hearings
        • Increased supervision intensity (e.g. meetings with a probation officer or case manager, drug testing, visits to court on a normal docket day)
        • Home visits
        • Restriction of privileges (e.g. curfew, travel)
        • Community service

        Sustainability

        Court and service components funded by:
        • Municipal funds
        • Court fees
        Has the court received media coverage?
        Yes
        Is there published research on the court program?
        No
        About this information:

        A program representative provided this information details through a detailed survey.

        For more information on the survey, read about our methodology or download a pdf of the full survey.

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