8th Circuit Mental Health Court

Quick Facts:

Date accepted first participant:
September, 2007
Mental health docket frequency:
bi-weekly
Number of participants per year:
0-50
Clinical eligibility criteria:
  • significant mental health issues
Legal eligibility criteria:
  • Felonies (property)
  • Felonies (nonviolent)
  • Felonies (violent)
  • Felony probation violations
    • Court and service components funded by:
    • Federal funds
    • State funds
    • State mental health funds
    • Court fees

    8th Circuit Mental Health Court

    Contact:

    Name:
    David Hoort
    Title:
    Circuit Judge
    Organization:
    8th Circuit Court
    Address:
    100 W. Main Street
    Ionia, MI 48846
    Email:
    dhoort@ioniacounty.org
    Phone:
    6165275336

    8th Circuit Mental Health Court

    General: Jurisdiction, History, and Planning

    Grantee Year:
    Rural
    Other collaborative criminal justice/mental health initiatives in community:
    Our district court and jail have a jail diversion program for minor offenses whereby the focus is on treatment and diversion from the criminal justice system. The probate courts have given me authority to utiliize our State's Mental Health Code for the treatment and supervision of defendants participating in our mental health court.
    Date accepted first participant:
    September, 2007
    Mental health docket frequency:
    bi-weekly
    Number of participants per year:
    0-50
    Planning and oversight/advisory group:
    • The mhc was designed by me and now has an oversight/advisory committee.
    Oversight group members:
  • Community mental health service provider
  • Substance abuse treatment provider
  • social services representative, legal aide representative, community representative, health department representative, community corrections representative
  • Supervisory-level law enforcement official
  • Judicial officer (e.g. a judge or magistrate)
  • Prosecutor
  • Public defender

    • Eligibility Criteria

    Clinical eligibility criteria:
    • significant mental health issues
    Establishment of clinical eligibility criteria:
    • In response to the need for services and protection of the community.
    Legal eligibility criteria:
  • Felonies (property)
  • Felonies (nonviolent)
  • Felonies (violent)
  • Felony probation violations
    • Effect of criminal history on eligibility:
  • No
    • Degree to which crime victims are involved in court processes:
    victims may be notified otherwise by the victim impact office through our prosecutor's office
    Reasons for lack of victim involvement in court processes:
    • The court program is not responsible for victims' rights issues
    • Our court would accept victim imput but no one has requested to be so involved with our mhc

    Court Team and Training

    Personnel who participate in case staffings:
    • Judicial officer (e.g. judge or magistrate)
    • Prosecutor
    • Defense attorney
    • Treatment provider or case manager employed by community mental health service provider
    • Community supervision officer (probation or parole)
    Job orientation:
    Staff are oriented on-the-job
    Ongoing training:
    • Yes, as is available
    Training topics:
    • Integrated mental health and substance abuse treatment
    • The court process and legal considerations
    • Information sharing with community mental health service providers
    • Local mental health services and community treatment capacity
    • Diversion options
    • Substance abuse treatment

    Participant Information

    Primary sources of referrals:
    • Jail staff
    • Probation officers
    • Prosecutors
    • Defense attorneys
    Mental health screening conducted by:
  • Community mental health service provider
  • Public defender
  • Probation officer
    • Mental health assessment conducted by:
  • Community mental health service provider
    • Point at which full mental health assessment conducted:
    If necessary, after a participant has been recommended to participate in our mhc.

    Terms and Duration of Participation

    Legal mechanism by which participants are accepted into court program:
  • Participants are sentenced to participation after a finding of guilt
  • Participants are sentenced to participation after committing a probation violation
  • Varies depending on charge
    • Terms of participation:
    They are standard and apply to all participants
    The court uses a formal, standard written contract for all participants:
    No
    Minimum and maximum periods of participation:
  • No, there are no minimum or maximum periods of participation
    • Average length of participation:
    1 year to 2 years

    Confidentiality and Informed Choice

    The court obtains written consent to release personal information:
    Yes, participants sign an initial release upon joining the program and subsequent releases when additional information is requested or shared
    Court-supervised treatment becomes part of the participants' criminal record:
    No
    The court has standard protocols for establishing legal competence of potential participants:
    No, the state determines legal competence before an individual is referred to the court program
    Length of time to assess participants' legal competence
    One month
    After assessment of legal competence, length of time before assessment of clincial competence:
    Our mhc does not get involved until post conviction thereby preserving to a defendant all of the post-conviction rights.
    Defense counsel helps potential participants decide whether to enter the court:
    Yes

    Monitoring, Supervision, Treatment, and Adherence

    Monitoring and supervision of participants primarily performed by:
    circuit court probation officers
    Services available to court participants:
  • Assistance in accessing benefits (e.g. Medicaid, SSI, SSDI, veterans)
  • Outpatient mental health treatment
  • Substance abuse treatment (independent from mental health treatment)
  • Integrated substance abuse and mental health treatment
  • Group psychotherapy
    • Court-supported services available after program completion:
    Some
    Rewards and incentives applied to participants who adhere to terms of treatment plans:
    • Early completion of participation in court program
    • The court does not have a standardized list of rewards / incentives
    • Praise from the judge
    • Reduced/waived fees for probation supervision or drug testing
    • Extended privileges (e.g. where people are allowed to live, whom them may visit, furloughs and leaves of absence)
    Sanctions applied to participants who do not adhere to terms of treatment plans:
    • Fines / fees
    • Jail
    • Expulsion from the program
    • Modifications in treatment plan (e.g. more frequent appointments with a case manager, adjustment to medications, increased drug screening, etc.)
    • prison
    • Judicial reprimands
    • Journal assignments
    • Restriction of privileges (e.g. curfew, travel)
    • Community service

    Sustainability

    Court and service components funded by:
    • Federal funds
    • State funds
    • State mental health funds
    • Court fees
    Has the court received media coverage?
    Yes
    Is there published research on the court program?
    No
    About this information:

    A program representative provided this information details through a detailed survey.

    For more information on the survey, read about our methodology or download a pdf of the full survey.

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