Mental health programs

A history of mental health programs in the Houston region and beyond:

1989 — The first specialty court, the Miami Drug Court, is formed under Janet Reno, then a Florida prosecutor, who would serve as Bill Clinton’s attorney general.

1997 — The nation’s first mental health court starts in Broward County, Florida.

2009 — Harris County establishes its mental health court.

2010 — The Fort Bend County public defender’s office starts its mental health program.

2012 — Montgomery County creates the Managed Assigned Counseling Mental Health program, which assigned mentally ill defendants a specialized attorney and caseworker.

2015 — Galveston County requests state funding for new specialty courts, including one for mental health. August 2016 — Montgomery County will see the first session of its Mental Health Treatment Court.