PORT TOWNSEND — The creation of a specialty court to deal with offenders having mental health issues will be discussed at a meeting today.
“We are excited about the prospects of establishing a mental health court,” said Jefferson County Prosecuting Attorney Scott Rosekrans.
“It would work in the same way as drug court and would help treat people without putting them into the system.
The meeting begins at 9 a.m. at the Port Townsend Police Station, 1919 Blaine St., and is open to the public.
Rosekrans said support from all the stakeholders — judge, prosecutor, public defender, police and treatment facilities — are necessary for the court to work.
That support exists in Jefferson County, he added.
Aside from those representatives, today’s meeting will include input from Alex Blanford, policy analyst with the Council of State Governments Justice Center in New York City, and Margaret Brammall who worked closely with King and Kitsap counties in their Mental Health Court programs.
Brammall will speak to how cost-effective mental health courts are and the savings to local jurisdictions in which they operate, according to Rosekrans.
Rosekrans said he did not know how much a mental health court would cost Jefferson County, but said that its implementation would save costs in other areas of law enforcement and the justice system.
Deputy Prosecutor Miriam Norman has indicated that she can handle the administrative aspects of a mental health court, Rosekrans said.
Norman prosecutes cases in District Court, in which most of the mental health cases will be prosecuted.
Drug Court diverts people who have committed nonviolent crimes and have a drug problem into a treatment program that can last as long as two years.
Part of the treatment is a weekly court appearance at which the participant talks about his or her progress directly with the judge.
Mental health court would operate in the same way, making the court appearance a way to keep defendants on track with their medications and treatment.
As in Drug Court, participants cannot have an extensive crime record, and the crime in question cannot be of a violent or sexual nature, according to the proposed guidelines. If law enforcement personnel recognize a mental health issue in a specific case, they would call for a screening to determine eligibility.
If eligibility is positive the person would be admitted to the program.
“Some people might use a ‘mental health issue’ as a dodge so they don’t have to go to prison, so the screening process is important,” Rosekrans said.
There are five phases to the program: orientation and engagement, intensive treatment, transition and community engagement, maintenance/recovery aftercare and preparation for probation.
The length of each phase depends on the individual case, with the program lasting a maximum of 24 weeks.
Rosekrans said that people with mental health issues do not “recover” in the same way as drug addicts.
“There is no cure for mental illness,” he said.
“But at the end of the 24 months, we hope they can adhere to a program that will allow them to function and not get into situations that will trigger their illness.”
The desired result is for the participant to “graduate” and find a job.
“A lot of local employers are happy to hire people who are in or have graduated from Drug Court,” Rosekrans said.
“It will be the same for mental health court, employers will be grateful to have someone who will show up on time and wash dishes.”
Jefferson County Reporter Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or at charlie.bermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
