For Immediate Release: Friday, July 16, 2010
ROCKVILLE, Md., July 16, 2010—The Montgomery County Council’s Health and Human Services Committee and its Public Safety Committee will meet jointly on Monday, July 19, to continue discussions on the possibility of establishing a mental health court to better address the needs of mentally ill people who have committed minor criminal offenses. A mental health court or other program structured to decriminalize mental illness and increase treatment compliance could lead to reduced recidivism by treating the underlying cause for the criminal behavior.
The Health and Human Services Committee, which is chaired by George Leventhal and includes Councilmembers Nancy Navarro and Duchy Trachtenberg, and the Public Safety Committee, which is chaired by Phil Andrews and includes Councilmembers Roger Berliner and Marc Elrich, will met at 9:30 a.m. in the Seventh Floor Hearing Room of the Council Office Building at 100 Maryland Ave. in Rockville.
The joint committees last met on this topic in October. At that worksession, Fred Osher of the Council of State Governments Justice Center shared information on the study he and others conducted in which Montgomery County served as one of the research sites.
The first phase of the study (from 2002-03) estimated that18 percent of the male inmates and 28 percent of female inmates in the Montgomery County Correctional Facility had some form of serious mental illness. The second phase of the study (2005-06) estimated 8 percent of male inmates and 21 percent of female inmates had serious mental illness.
If Montgomery establishes the first mental health court in County history, it would have a specialized docket for eligible defendants (people who have been arrested for minor, non-violent offenses) with mental illnesses. Its purpose would be to hold mentally ill criminal defendants accountable for their actions, while not criminalizing mental illness. The joint committees will discuss if Montgomery County is prepared to establish such a court.
“For too long, mental illness has been criminalized and those afflicted have been without adequate clinical services, housing and case management,” said Councilmember Trachtenberg. “A Mental Health Court in Montgomery County holds great promise toward reducing unnecessary incarceration and assisting the mentally ill in securing a better life. I am hopeful that one day this best practice will become a reality here in Montgomery County.
Raymond Crowel, chief of the County’s Department of Health and Human Resources’ Behavioral Health and Crisis Services, suggested that the Criminal Justice Behavioral Health Initiative (CJBHI) be asked to serve as the collaborative work group to develop recommendations on strategies to support a mental health court or “mini mental health court.”
“I have always found it unfortunate that jails continue to be the largest providers of mental health services,” said Councilmember Leventhal. “It would be far better if we could establish a program that would support and treat people in the community. I fully expect that such a program would prevent many repeat arrests for minor non-violent offenses that are a result of mental illness. And, in these fiscal times when we must spend every dollar with extreme care, could reduce long term costs associated with incarceration by wisely investing in treatment and prevention.”
County Council staff has suggest that it would be useful to look at cases from the past year to start to determine which, if any, might have been appropriate for a mental health court or a diversion program.
Other concerns to be addressed are the sentiments of the State’s Attorney’s Office, the Public Defender and private defenders about a possible mental health court.
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