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By Myrna Trauntvein
Times-News Correspondent
Bill Motes, a citizen and member of the Leaders in Community (LIC), suggested county commissioners learn about Mental Health Court.
He had recently attended a conference where he learned more about the Salt Lake County Mental Health Court. He then spoke with Sim Gil, Salt Lake County District Attorney, about the program.
"I am here as a concerned citizen," said Motes.
He said that such a program might be something the county commission and the court system in the county might want to investigate. He gave each commissioner a copy of the "Evaluation of the Salt Lake County Mental Health Court Final Report, June 2008."
The only problem with the report, he said, was the figures used might be a little out-dated.
Jared Eldridge, county attorney, said he had spoken with Judith Atherton
Judge in the Third District Court, Salt Lake City, Utah.
"She said that she would be happy to come here, to Juab, and explain the program," said Eldridge.
"Recently, a mental health court has been started in Sevier County," said Eldridge.
A local agency, The Central Utah Counseling Center, would be the agency that would work closely with the offender to help treat the mental illness.
Mental Health court is not a separate court, it's not separate from any regular court, but it is a program much like the drug court in Juab County that helps people with problems find the help they need to gain back their lives and stop the circle of repeating the same offense, for the same reasons, over and over.
Certain people are invited in mental health court based on the fact that the individual is in the criminal justice system and has mental health issues.
"I just brought you the information to study," said Motes. "What I have presented will give you more information so that when you receive a presentation [from Atherton], you will be prepared."
He said that there was a great deal of information that needed to be studied and that it would take some time to do that.
"The way we are doing it," said Val Jones, commission chairman, "is not working. the offenders just keep coming back and back. This is a better way to treat those with mental illness."
Those coming into the Mental health court for appropriate diagnosis would be those with bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, schizo-affective disorder, among others.
The social work and psychology staff, who can approve participation for those being prosecuted, are involved in the diagnosis.
Prosecutors then take over and determine whether or not the offense is appropriate for entry into mental health court. That entrance into mental health court is based on whether or not there is a danger to the community sufficient to render the person inappropriate.
There are certain offenses that cannot be part of mental health court, those would include sex offenses and some violent crimes. Nevertheless, in each case the individual is evaluated before a determination is made.
For example, as people go off prescribed medications, and they should not, they become psychotic and violent. Police are called and the officers are assaulted. That may be considered a violent crime but, since mental illness is the actual base cause of the violence, that person could be part of the program.
In Utah, in almost all circumstances, the offender is held accountable. It is important to look at the issue of mental illness to address how to work through the criminal justice system. In order to be in mental health court, the defendant needs to enter a plea of guilty.
Mental Health participants are held even more accountable, than the average law-breaker, because they see supervisors on a weekly basis so they have much more contact with the court system.
"It operates much like drug court," said Eldridge. "I am not certain if it would require the county to have more resources in order to run the program effectively."
Motes said that the report he had presented, if studied by the commission, would help them be informed so that, when they were ready to consider a decision, there would not be such a learning curve.
Jail was an expensive place to keep a person who would benefit from treatment, and could then leave the jail system. That was one item to be considered as commissioners looked at the question of whether or not to adopt a mental health court in the county.
Utah County also has a mental health court.
"I realize that they have a lot bigger system in Salt Lake than we have," he said.
However, the study done there presented both the pros and cons of the mental health court. It answered many questions commissioners might have such as the cost of treatment, the cost of jail, the number of people who did not return to the court system after participating, and the fact that, years after treatment, it was shown that return offenses were much less.
Motes also invited commissioners to participate in the LIC council, held monthly, especially as commissioners were considering the program as the council could prove a valuable resource.
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