JMHCP Grantee (2010) -- Washington County Mental Health Court

Quick Facts:

Date accepted first participant:
March/2007
Mental health docket frequency:
Weekly
Number of participants per year:
The court is less than one year old
Clinical eligibility criteria:
  • The court accepts participants with only Axis I diagnoses
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
    • Participants' records may be expunged
    Case disposition upon unsuccessful program completion:
  • Participants are returned to the court of original jurisdiction for case processing

    • JMHCP Grantee Information

    Grant Year
    2010

    JMHCP Grantee (2010) -- Washington County Mental Health Court

    Contact:

    Name:
    Deborah Cloyd
    Title:
    Criminal Justice Mental Health Liaison
    Organization:
    Washington County Mental Health Court
    Address:
    114 W Jackson Blvd
    Jonesborough, TN 37659
    Email:
    dcloyd@frontierhealth.org
    Phone:
    423-753-7486

    JMHCP Grantee (2010) -- Washington County Mental Health Court

    General: Jurisdiction, History, and Planning

    Grantee Year:
    Mixed
    Other collaborative criminal justice/mental health initiatives in community:
    Crisis Intervention Team - Johnson City Police Dept.
    Mental Health Officers - Washington Co. Detention Center
    Criminal Justice Mental Health Committee
    Date accepted first participant:
    March/2007
    Mental health docket frequency:
    Weekly
    Number of participants per year:
    The court is less than one year old
    Planning and oversight/advisory group:
  • The court had a planning committee that has evolved into an oversight/advisory capacity
  • The court currently has an oversight/advisory committee with substantially different membership than its planning committee
    • Oversight group members:
  • Community mental health service provider
  • Substance abuse treatment provider
  • Consumers' advocate
  • Judicial officer (e.g. a judge or magistrate)
  • Prosecutor
  • Public defender

    • Eligibility Criteria

    Clinical eligibility criteria:
    • The court accepts participants with only Axis I diagnoses
    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
    • They were established according to the jurisdictions' needs
    • They were established through the court's experience and expertise
      • Legal eligibility criteria:
    • Ordinance offenses / violations
    • Misdemeanors
    • Misdemeanor probation violations
      • Effect of criminal history on eligibility:
        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:

          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
          • Job orientation:
          Staff are oriented on-the-job
          Ongoing training:
            Training topics:
            • Integrated mental health and substance abuse treatment
            • Information sharing with community mental health service providers
            • Local mental health services and community treatment capacity
            • Diversion options
            • 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)
            • Jail staff
            • Probation officers
            • Judges
            • Pretrial services staff
            • Prosecutors
            • Defense attorneys
            Mental health screening conducted by:
          • Community mental health service provider
            • Mental health assessment conducted by:
          • Community mental health service provider
            • 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
            • Case disposition upon successful program completion:
            • Participants' charges may be dismissed upon successful 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 standard with individualized terms routinely added
            The court uses a formal, standard written contract for all participants:
            Yes
            Minimum and maximum periods of participation:
            • Min 6-9, Max 12
            Average length of participation:
            The court is less than one year old

            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
            If this is in question, there is no referral to MHC.
            After assessment of legal competence, length of time before assessment of clincial competence:
            The court program does not assess clinical competence
            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)
            • Inpatient mental health treatment
            • Outpatient mental health treatment
            • Substance abuse treatment (independent from 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:
          • Praise from the judge
          • Increased time between status hearings
            • 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

            • Sustainability

            Has the court received media coverage?
            No
            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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