FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Commissioner Bob Janes (335-2224) or Ann Arnall (652-7930), Lee County
Government
Ken Kellum, Courts Administration, 335-2299, ext.
4032
Debra Webb, Children & Families, 338-1434
COMMUNITY EFFORT LAUNCHES MENTAL HEALTH COURT IN SW FLORIDA
FORT
MYERS, Fla. (June 20, 2002) –
Southwest Florida will hold its first ever “mental health” court next week
– an innovative alternative to traditional justice models that incorporates
diversion and treatment for those with mental illnesses who have committed minor
crimes.
The establishment of the mental health court is
the result of eight months of research and cooperation among more than 15
participating agencies from the criminal justice system, local government, human
services providers and others.
The first court session will be held at 8:30 a.m.
Tuesday (June 25) before Circuit Judge Hugh Starnes, courtroom 19 on the third
floor of the Lee County Justice Center, 1700 Monroe Street in downtown Fort
Myers. Representatives of
participating agencies will be available to answer questions from the media.
The court is designed to address the needs of
people with serious mental illnesses who have been charged with misdemeanor
criminal offenses.
The traditional criminal justice model is to
adjudicate these offenders and impose penalties that include incarceration or
probation, but focus little on ongoing treatment.
The problems that occur with this model are that often times these
individuals are incarcerated due to behaviors associated with their mental
illnesses, as opposed to a blatant disregard for the law or any criminal intent.
Not treating the core problem just leads to future encounters with the
criminal justice system.
By comparison, the
mental health court is a diversionary pretrial model.
Court supervision is offered to those individuals who are eligible based
on the severity of their mental illness and their criminal history.
This voluntary program offers a treatment-focused alternative to the
traditional criminal justice system.
Each mental health court participant has a case manager to assist with
securing housing, medication, consistent treatment, and daily living skills.
A mutually agreed upon treatment plan is developed and followed with
periodic case reviews before the court.
If the participant improves under the program,
there is no need for incarceration or traditional probation. This ultimately costs the community less through decreased
recidivism and less stress on the local criminal justice system.
Ongoing treatment programs for the new mental
health court are being funded through the existing budgets of the participating
agencies and augmented with an additional $100,000 for immediately accessible
case management psychiatric services as well as money for housing assistance and
medications. The $100,000 comes
from G. Pierce Wood closure funds. In
addition, in May, the Lee County Commission approved a budget increase of
$132,288 annually for the Sheriff’s Office to enhance psychiatric services for
inmates.
The mental health court
was developed through the identification of an unmet need, review of existing
models throughout the United States, and through the cooperation of the
following stakeholders:
The
Honorable Hugh Starnes, Circuit Judge
Lee
County Board of County Commissioners
Lee
County Sheriff’s Office
Office
of Court Administration, Twentieth Judicial Circuit of Florida
State’s
Attorney’s Office, Twentieth Judicial Circuit of Florida
Public
Defender’s Office, Twentieth Judicial Circuit of Florida
Lee
County Pretrial Services
Lee
County Probation
National
Alliance for the Mentally Ill of Lee County
National
Alliance for the Mentally Ill of Collier County
Florida
Department of Children and Families, Alcohol, Drug Abuse and Mental Health
Program Office
Lee
County Department of Human Services
Prison
Health Services
Ruth
Cooper Center for Behavioral Health Care
Coastal
Behavioral Health Care, Inc.
Florida
Gulf Coast University
Southwest Florida Addiction Services