Administrative Order dated November 15, 2016 (PDF), waives all court costs and fees upon admission to the program.
Mental Health Court
Overview of the Mental Health Court (MHC) Program
In early 2016, the Mental Health Court Planning and Implementation Task Force recommended the creation of a Mental Health Problem-Solving Court in both Montgomery County's District and Circuit Courts.
The Task Force recognized the following benefits from establishing an MHC:
- Strengthens public safety by reducing (1) recidivism among individuals who commit low-level crimes because of a mental illness, and (2) the risk that these individuals’ crimes will escalate to much more serious offenses because of a lack of access to medication and critical services.
- Improves treatment of people with mental illness by moving them away from incarceration into community services, to help stabilize them and enable them to lead productive lives.
- Increases efficiency of the criminal justice system by addressing the underlying illness behind these crimes and therefore reducing the strain on the police, prosecutors, and courts that occurs when the same individuals are arrested multiple times.
- Improves return on investment—replacing incarceration costs and social subsidies with potential revenue from taxes related to employing individuals who do not have a criminal record and can work safely in the community.
- Eliminates need for separate Veterans Treatment Dockets (VTDs)—court-supervised, comprehensive treatment programs for veterans suffering from mental health conditions such as Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Traumatic Brain Injury, and/or substance abuse issues.
- Adds tool to address behavioral health challenges—the new Court represents a post-booking intervention strategy to add to the new approaches to mental illness being proposed across several Montgomery County agencies.
More information can be found in the Report of the Montgomery County Maryland Mental Health Court Planning and Implementation Task Force (PDF), dated January 21, 2016. (Please note: some of the attachments in Appendix A were updated as of November 2017)
Anyone can refer a defendant to Mental Health Court, including, but not limited to, judges, prosecutors, defense attorneys, law enforcement, the Department of Correction and Rehabilitation, Parole and Probation, state hospitals, private mental health providers, and family members.
If you would like to have a defendant evaluated for possible entry into the Mental Health Court Program, please contact the Problem Solving Court Coordinator at 240-777-9141.
Admission, Program Referral, & Graduation Requirements
Individuals eligible to participate in Mental Health Court are adults (age 18 or older) who are:
- Residents of Montgomery County;
- Diagnosed with a severe, persistent mental illness;
- Deemed to be competent; and
- Charged with, or on probation for, offenses related to their mental health diagnosis.
Anyone can refer a defendant to Mental Health Court, including, but not limited to, judges, prosecutors, defense attorneys, law enforcement, the Department of Correction and Rehabilitation, Parole and Probation, state hospitals, private mental health providers, and family members.
The following steps outline the approach for approving a defendant for participation in MHC:
Step 1) Referral is made to the Problem Solving Court Coordinator along with a signed limited release of information that allows the team to review the candidate for the purpose of determining program eligibility.
Step 2) The Coordinator contacts the candidate’s attorney, representatives from the State’s Attorney’s Office, and the clinical team from Montgomery County Health and Human Services, to determine the following:
- Candidate’s willingness to participate
- Approval from the State’s Attorney’s Office
- Documented history of hospitalizations and/or services related to mental illness
Step 3) The case is presented to the Mental Health Court Team for ultimate approval by the judge.
Step 4) Once approved, the plea or violation of probation is set before the Mental Health Court judges for admission. The candidate is sentenced and placed on probation with a special condition of completing Mental Health Court.
MHC participants must achieve all the goals of their individualized case treatment plan to successfully graduate from MHC. Goals will vary depending on each defendant’s unique plan but may include a combination of:
- Stability
- Compliance with supervision
- Participation in the community
- Employment and/or other means of meeting daily needs
- Engagement in therapy
- Taking medication as prescribed
- Staying drug-free
The program takes a minimum of 18 months to complete and consists of three phases.
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