What Are Mental Health Courts?
Mental health courts are a relatively new type of problem-solving court begun in the late 1990s. The term mental health court is most often used to refer to a specialized docket for defendants with mental illnesses that provides: • The opportunity to participate in court-supervised treatment; • A court team composed of a judge, court personnel, and treatment providers, which defines terms of participation; • Continued status assessments with individualized sanctions and incentives; and • Resolution of case upon successful completion of mandated treatment plan. (Bureau of Justice Assistance, Mental Health Courts Program) There are many mental health court designs. For instance, while some mental health courts have been developed with a dedicated mental health staff and courtroom specifically designed for adjudication of cases involving mentally ill defendants, other mental health courts share courtrooms, staff, attorneys, and judges with traditional court dockets. In addition, some juri
