Montgomery County will launch mental health court
Montgomery County is poised to become the latest Texas jurisdiction to launch a mental health court, joining a national trend aimed at sending nonviolent offenders with serious mental illnesses to treatment rather than prison.
Across the country, many participants in mental health courts have an addiction as well as a mental illness, and some are also homeless. These courts help address a massive national problem: 1 in 5 people in local jails has a recent history of mental illness, according to a 2006 Bureau of Justice Statistics report, and mentally ill inmates with prior convictions were more likely to end up in jail again.
The phenomenon is so common that jailers call them “frequent fliers” — nonviolent low-level offenders who cycle in and out of police custody.
Modeled after drug courts, courts focusing on mental health treatment began in Florida in 1997 and have spread slowly across the country. According to the Council of State Governments, there are now more than 300 in the United States.
When its new court starts hearing cases later this month, Montgomery County will become the eighth Texas county with one, according to a list maintained by the governor’s office. In total, the state has nearly 200 specialty courts with focuses that include veterans, drugs, DWIs and prostitution. Experts say these courts cut incarceration costs, improve individual outcomes and reduce recidivism.
Harris County established its first mental health court in 2009 with support from then-District Attorney Pat Lykos.
Fort Bend County operates felony and misdemeanor mental health courts, and its public defender’s office began in 2010 with a focus on mental health.
Galveston County has a specialized unit in its community supervision program for people on parole and probation, and the county is seeking state funding for a mental health court as well.
Montgomery County’s launch comes four years after it created a program that paired mentally ill defendants with a specialized attorney and caseworker. That team aimed to connect defendants with counseling, housing and other services to keep them out of jail. Mission: ‘Turn the tide’
This spring, Montgomery County commissioners authorized the new mental health treatment court, which allows mentally ill defendants accused of nonviolent crimes to seek treatment rather than face punishment. The voluntary program lasts 12 to 24 months and includes psychiatric treatment, medical care, public benefits and services like housing assistance and job placement. Defendants must be found legally competent before choosing to enter the program.
Montgomery County prosecutors may dismiss minor charges if defendants complete the program’s requirements, which include regular court appearances before one of the two judges supervising the program, County Court-at-Law Judge Mary Ann Turner and state District Court Judge Lisa Michalk.
“We’re hoping that we can maybe turn the tide and get them out of the criminal justice system,” Michalk said, adding that the new court benefits both the defendants and the public. The county’s savings could be considerable.
Jailing one person costs the county about $70 a day, the judge said, adding that the new program has support from local leaders such as County Judge Craig Doyal, Precinct 1 Commissioner Mike Meador, and the county’s district attorney, sheriff and probation director.
Drug courts have been shown to improve outcomes, said Dr. Renee Binder, a California psychiatrist who recently served as president of the American Psychiatric Association. “It reduces the number of subsequent jail days, and it reduces the instances of violence,” she said.
The APA advocates the “decriminalization of mental health,” Binder added. “We do have a problem in the U.S. where people with mental illnesses are being sent to jails and prisons rather than being given medical and psychiatric treatment.” Program’s process
Montgomery County currently pays the salaries of the county’s recently hired director of mental health court services, Gloria Kessler, as well the assigned prosecutor and the other mental health court employees. Kessler said the county will seek state funding early next year. A licensed counselor who also teaches social services at Lone Star College, Kessler will oversee two case managers.
The two judges will run a “multidisciplinary team” that includes a special prosecutor from the district attorney’s office, a trained probation officer, and Kessler’s team of counselors and case managers.
In most cases, defense attorneys will refer participants to the new court. Defendants are eligible if they are accused of misdemeanors or nonviolent felonies and have a serious mental illness like bipolar disorder, schizophrenia or major depressive disorder. The court might also accept some people with PTSD, severe anxiety or intellectual disabilities, Kessler said.
Prosecutors will decide if individuals fit the criteria, including whether mental illness caused the crime for which they are charged or was connected to it. If a defendant agrees to enter the program, he or she will be represented at no cost by one of two defense attorneys, Kathryn Liptrap and Jarrod Walker, who are volunteering their time until funding is found.
The defendants become clients once they enter the program, Kessler said. They will leave jail on probation or bond supervision. A treatment plan may include substance abuse treatment, psychiatric counseling and medications. For indigent participants, the counseling will be free through the TriCounty Behavioral Health program.
“We’re not here to punish,” Kessler said. “We’re here to work with the parties to help them obtain treatment.” ‘Grace is a good thing’
Individuals must appear regularly before the judges for updates on their progress through four stages.
The fact that the treatment is ordered and overseen by a judge may help some clients stay the course.
“If it’s not court-ordered and you’re in a psychotic state … you’re going to keep going around that hamster wheel and do the same things over and over,” Kessler said.
If clients complete the requirements, some will qualify for a reduced sentence or dismissal of the original charges. For others, the program is considered pretrial diversion, meaning there might be no conviction on their records.
“Sometimes,” said Michalk, the district court judge, “I think that grace is a good thing.”
The court will convene for the first time Aug. 25 and will meet every other Thursday, Kessler said.
Michalk hopes the mental health court will lead to defendants getting the treatment they need and staying out of the criminal justice system.
“Hopefully,” she said, “we won’t see them again.”