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JMHCP Grantee (2010) -- San Francisco Superior Court: Behavioral Health Court
Quick Facts:
- Date accepted first participant:
- January/2003
- Mental health docket frequency:
- Twice weekly
- Number of participants per year:
- 101-200
- Clinical eligibility criteria:
- The court accepts participants with only Axis I diagnoses
- Clinical exclusion criteria:
- Primary substance use disorders
- Legal eligibility criteria:
- Misdemeanors
- Misdemeanor probation violations
- Felonies (property)
- Felonies (nonviolent)
- Felonies (violent)
- Felony probation violations
- Excluding: Homicide, Sex Offenses
- Case disposition upon successful program completion:
- Participants' charges may be dismissed upon successful completion
- Participants' charges may be reduced upon successful completion
- Participants' time under supervision may be reduced
- 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
- State funds
- Municipal funds
- State mental health funds
- Municipal mental health funds
- Private foundation grants
JMHCP Grantee Information
- Grant Year
- 2010
JMHCP Grantee (2010) -- San Francisco Superior Court: Behavioral Health Court
Contact:
- Name:
- Maria McKee
- Title:
- Director of Collaborative Justice Courts
- Address:
- 400 McAllister Street, Room 205
San Francisco, CA 94102 - Email:
- mmckee@sftc.org
- Phone:
- 415-551-5746
JMHCP Grantee (2010) -- San Francisco Superior Court: Behavioral Health Court
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:
- San Francisco Drug Court; Offender Treatment Program; Community Justice Center
- Date accepted first participant:
- January/2003
- Mental health docket frequency:
- Twice weekly
- Number of participants per year:
- 101-200
- Planning and oversight/advisory group:
- The court had a planning committee that ceased meeting after the court's creation
- Oversight group members:
-
- Line-level law enforcement official
- Community mental health service provider
- Substance abuse treatment provider
- Judicial officer (e.g. a judge or magistrate)
- Court administrator / program director
- Prosecutor
- Public defender
- Corrections officer
Eligibility Criteria
- Clinical eligibility criteria:
- The court accepts participants with only Axis I diagnoses
- Clinical exclusion criteria:
- Primary substance use disorders
- Establishment of clinical eligibility criteria:
- They were established in consultation with mental health treatment providers
- Legal eligibility criteria:
- Misdemeanors
- Misdemeanor probation violations
- Felonies (property)
- Felonies (nonviolent)
- Felonies (violent)
- Felony probation violations
- Excluding: Homicide, Sex Offenses
- Effect of criminal history on eligibility:
- Defendants with prior serious felony convictions can only be admitted with the express consent of the District Attorney
- Degree to which crime victims are involved in court processes:
- Victims are notified about victim's services available in the community
- 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)
- Prosecutor
- Defense attorney
- 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
- Graduated sanctions and the role of coercion
- Local mental health services and community treatment capacity
- Treatment engagement
- Cultural competence
- Gender-specific treatment and services
- Trauma issues
- Substance abuse treatment
Participant Information
- Primary sources of referrals:
- Jail staff
- Prosecutors
- Defense attorneys
- Mental health screening conducted by:
- Jail Psychiatric Services
- Mental health assessment conducted by:
- Community mental health service provider
- Point at which full mental health assessment conducted:
- After a participant has been accepted into court
Terms and Duration of Participation
- Legal mechanism by which participants are accepted into court program:
- Varies depending on charge
- Case disposition upon successful program completion:
- Participants' charges may be dismissed upon successful completion
- Participants' charges may be reduced upon successful completion
- Participants' time under supervision may be reduced
- 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 clinical diagnosis
- The court uses a formal, standard written contract for all participants:
- Yes
- Minimum and maximum periods of participation:
- No, there are no minimum or maximum periods of participation
- Min: 12 months
- 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 a single release
- 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
- One week
- After assessment of legal competence, length of time before assessment of clincial competence:
- One week
- 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)
- Supported employment
- Inpatient mental health treatment
- Outpatient mental health treatment
- Integrated substance abuse and mental health treatment
- Medication management
- Individual psychotherapy
- Group psychotherapy
- Family therapy
- Court-supported services available after program completion:
- Yes
- Rewards and incentives applied to participants who adhere to terms of treatment plans:
- Graduation ceremonies
- The court does not have a standardized list of rewards / incentives
- Priority position in the order of cases called
- Praise from the judge
- Increased time between status hearings
- Food items or gift certificates from local businesses
- Extended privileges (e.g. where people are allowed to live, whom them may visit, furloughs and leaves of absence)
- 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.)
- The court does not have a standardized list of sanctions.
- Judicial reprimands
- Journal assignments
- 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)
- Restriction of privileges (e.g. curfew, travel)
Sustainability
- Court and service components funded by:
-
- Federal funds
- State funds
- Municipal funds
- State mental health funds
- Municipal mental health funds
- Private foundation grants
- Has the court received media coverage?
- Yes
- Is there published research on the court program?
- McNeil, D. & R. Binder. “Effectiveness of a Mental Health Court in Reducing Criminal Recidivism and Violence,”American Journal of Psychiatry, 169:9, September 2007, p. 1395-1403.
About this information:
A program representative provided this information details through a detailed survey.
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