Tuesday, July 06, 2004

Justice gaps for mentally ill closed (New Jersey)
Story in the Gloucester County Times on the "frightening gap between the criminal justice system and the mental health community," advocacy efforts by the local NAMI chapter and the Gloucester County Mental Illness and Intervention Committee, which was formed to address the area's criminal justice service for the mentally ill.  
  

Mental health court may get OK (South Carolina)
Story in The State - "Anderson County could begin a court program designed for mental health patients if the state’s chief justice approves the idea next week. The mental health court would divert defendants in some misdemeanor cases from traditional trials to a special hearing at the area’s mental health center. ... The county has $100,000 to cover the costs — the bulk of that is a grant from the state Public Safety Department and the rest is coming from the mental health center. Officials hope to have the court running as early as this month."  
  

Mental health court helping kids (Ohio)
Cincinnati Enquirer story on mental health courts, focusing on those in Ohio - " Mental health courts for adults are popping up across the country. Seven counties in Ohio, including Hamilton and Butler, have them. But similar courts in the juvenile system remain rare. Experts say juvenile court might be the first place officials spot a mentally ill child. That's important, they argue, because detecting and treating mental illness early can prevent children from ending up in prison or a mental hospital - saving taxpayers hundreds of thousands of dollars. The juvenile justice system has become a warehouse for mentally ill children, according to the Coalition for Juvenile Justice in Washington, a federally funded group that studies juvenile justice in an attempt to make it better..."