Project TRAIN

Quick Facts:

Date accepted first participant:
January 2009
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
  • Axis I and co-occurring substance abuse disorders
Clinical exclusion criteria:
  • Primary substance use disorders
  • Behavioral criteria: violent offenders and sex offenders excluded
Legal eligibility criteria:
  • Misdemeanors
  • Felonies (property)
  • Felonies (nonviolent)
    • Case disposition upon successful program completion:
    • Participants' records may be expunged
    Case disposition upon unsuccessful program completion:
  • Participants are returned to the court of original jurisdiction for case processing
    • Court and service components funded by:
  • Federal funds
  • private 3rd party insurance, Medicaid
  • Municipal funds
  • Regional mental health funds
    • Criminal Justice System Focus
    Co-occurring juvenile mental health court

    Project TRAIN

    Contact:

    Name:
    Amy Hinton
    Title:
    Senior Consultant
    Address:
    400 South Union Street, Suite 195
    Montgomery, Alabama 36104
    Email:
    ahinton@cgov.aum.edu
    Phone:
    334-430-9100

    Project TRAIN

    General: Jurisdiction, History, and Planning

    Grantee Year:
    Urban
    Level of government at which court operates:
    County
    Other collaborative criminal justice/mental health initiatives in community:
    1.) The Juvenile Risk and Resource Evaluation Committee (JRREC) is a community workgroup with representation from local public schools, the juvenile court, the Office of the Mayor, the community mental health system, the Montgomery County Family Court, several non-profit community organizations and some local university partners. This workgroup has been meeting since the early 1990s and is an outgrowth of the City of Montgomery's first "Weed and Seed" federal grant project, but has expanded to include county officials and a much larger andmore diverse representation.

    2.) The Montgomery Area Transition and Re-Entry Workgroup was established in March 2011, to focus on capacity-building, project partnerships and resource development inthe area of transiton and re-entry. Representation includes the Executive Directors of two adult transiton and re-entry non-profit organizations (one for males and one for females), the Executive Director of Montgomery County Community Corrections and his supported employment coordinator. Subject-matter experts in mental health policy, criminology and sociology, and workforce development affiliated with the Auburn University Montgomery Center for Government and Public Affairs serve as ex officio members.
    Date accepted first participant:
    January 2009
    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:
  • Community mental health service provider
  • State mental health agency representative
  • Substance abuse treatment provider
  • Housing provider
  • Consumer of mental health services
  • Consumers' advocate
  • parent advocate, transition/re-entry, public education advocacy, public school employees, developmental disability/intellectual disability service providers
  • Judicial officer (e.g. a judge or magistrate)
  • Court administrator / program director
  • Prosecutor

    • Eligibility Criteria

    Clinical eligibility criteria:
    • The court accepts participants with any Axis I or Axis II mental health diagnoses
    • Axis I and co-occurring substance abuse disorders
    Clinical exclusion criteria:
    • Primary substance use disorders
    • Behavioral criteria: violent offenders and sex offenders excluded
    Establishment of clinical eligibility criteria:
  • They were established in consultation with mental health treatment providers
  • They were established through the court's experience and expertise
    • Legal eligibility criteria:
  • Misdemeanors
  • Felonies (property)
  • Felonies (nonviolent)
    • Effect of criminal history on eligibility:
  • Yes, individuals with past violent crimes are excluded from participation
  • Yes, individuals with past sex offenses are excluded from participation
    • 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 program is not responsible for victims' rights issues

    • Court Team and Training

    Personnel who participate in case staffings:
    • Judicial officer (e.g. judge or magistrate)
    • Court administrator / program director
    • Defense attorney
    • 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)
    • parent/guardian
    Job orientation:
    Staff receive peer-to-peer training
    Ongoing training:
  • Yes, there are annual training requirements.
  • Yes, there is funding support for staff to attend training sessions.
    • Training topics:
    • Integrated mental health and substance abuse treatment
    • Ethics training
    • Trauma issues
    • Victim's issues
    • Substance abuse treatment

    Participant Information

    Primary sources of referrals:
  • Judges
  • Magistrates
    • Mental health screening conducted by:
    • Court personnel with mental health background / experience
    • Doctoral-level Educational Psychologist
    Mental health assessment conducted by:
  • 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
    • consent decree to participate in diversion program
    Case disposition upon successful program completion:
    • Participants' records may be expunged
    Case disposition upon unsuccessful program completion:
  • Participants are returned to the court of original jurisdiction for case processing
    • 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:
    Yes
    Minimum and maximum periods of participation:
    • Min: 6 months, Max: 18 months
    Average length of participation:
    0.5 years to 1 year

    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:
    Yes, the court program has a system for establishing legal competence aside from the state system
    Length of time to assess participants' legal competence
    Handled by the juvenile's defense attorney
    After assessment of legal competence, length of time before assessment of clincial competence:
    varies based on offender
    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:
    Community mental health service providers
    Services available to court participants:
    • Emergency psychiatric services (crisis stabilization)
    • Assistance in locating housing
    • Transportation (e.g. bus fare, rides to program-related appointments)
    • individual counseling and case management
    • Inpatient mental health treatment
    • Outpatient mental health treatment
    • Substance abuse treatment (independent from mental health treatment)
    • Integrated substance abuse and mental health treatment
    • Medication management
    • Family therapy
    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
  • The court does not have a standardized list of rewards / incentives
  • Praise from the judge
    • Sanctions applied to participants who do not adhere to terms of treatment plans:
    • 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:
  • Federal funds
  • private 3rd party insurance, Medicaid
  • Municipal funds
  • Regional mental health funds
    • Has the court received media coverage?
    Associated Press article mentioning that we receive the JMHCP II grant back in October 2010
    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.

    If you are a representative of a similar program not yet listed in our database, please register and take the survey to contribute your information.

    Explore the Justice Center’s Websites
    CSG Justice Center Criminal Justice / Mental Health Consensus Project Justice Reinvestment National Reentry Resource Center Reentry Policy Council