With the majority of those going to jail in the United States having some form of mental illness, a proposed Isabella court is looking to find a more lasting solution that focuses on treatment rather than incarceration.
A proposal for a mental health court in Isabella County is being created by a steering committee that includes representatives from Community Mental Health for Central Michigan, Shepherd Police Department, the sheriff’s department in Mt. Pleasant, the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services and McBride Quality Care.
The idea came from Senior Assistant Prosecutor and Probate Judge Candidate Stuart Black in the fall, with Community Mental Health getting involved soon after.
The court is still in its early stages, according to Deputy Director for Services of Community Mental Health Julie Bayardo.
“The likelihood of someone with mental illness being put in jail is much higher than the general population,” she said.
A 2005 Bureau of Justice report stated that more than half of jail inmates had some form of mental health problem.
Right now, the steering committee is developing forms for a package to present to the probate judge. The judge is in charge introducing a specialty court .
“At this point, we need to get all of the documents together and run them through the task force so everyone is in agreement,” Bayardo said, “At that point, we’re looking for some grants for staffing for the mental health court.”
Once the grant and paperwork is secured, the committee will present the proposal to the probate judge, but she says that it will likely be presented once new probate judge is elected.
Both Black and Bayardo said that, if all goes well, it should be up and running by next year.
Depending on the circumstances, some can have their crime taken off of their record, according to Bayardo.
“It’s on a limited basis,” she said.
Bayardo said that Community Mental Health doesn’t take an active stance in support of any candidate or political issue, but they are focused on improving mental health care in the jails and in the court processes.
Black said he researched the logistics and processes of the Genesee County mental health court, which was founded in 2007.
One of the motivations behind implementing a mental health court would be the possible savings it would provide.
“Genesee County talked about how they estimated that they saved approximately $1.5 million over 10 years on incarceration costs alone.” Black said, “The idea is that instead of these individuals being incarcerated for lengthy periods of time, you are getting them in the mental health court program, which in turn, saves tax payers money on long incarcerations.”
He also said that another way incarceration rates could be reduced is if the court could help prevent repeat offenders.
The committee’s goal is to tailor the proposed program to the county.
“We want to figure out what the needs are for Isabella County and how we can meet those needs,” Black said.