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Bravo to leaders of both the Clinton County court system and the prison for putting together a more comprehensive approach to dealing with mental illness among those they deal with.
County judges are seeing an increasing number of mental health diagnoses among defendants and believe it is contributing to the crimes they commit.
Mental health illness is a growing problem.
In 2019, 382 out of 582 county residents housed at the prison were given mental health related counseling, according to Crossroads Counseling Inc.
And 76 percent -- or 291 -- of those individuals received psychiatric services through Crossroads.
That trend, so far as we can tell, is occuring nationwide.
We just wish there were more and better ways to prevent mental health disorders.
We care that those with mental illness and their families can easily find resources for treatment, that law enforcement is properly trained to recognize mental illness, and that the court system is able to properly treat/deal with these individuals.
We also care that society at large is protected from those who roam our streets with mental health problems that go undetected and result in harm to others.
The county court system already has two treatment courts: Drug and Alcohol Treatment Court, which began in 2014, and Veterans Treatment Court that began in 2016.
Under the new protocol, county President Judge Michael Salisbury said anyone within the legal system such as arresting officers, probation/parole officers, district judges, district attorneys, public defenders and other members of the legal community may recommend Behavioral Court for an offender.
That means, we believe, more and better training is necessary to identify real mental illness.
To be eligible for the program a person must be charged with a misdemeanor caused by their mental illness, he said.
According to the manual, the person's sentence of supervision must be a minimum of 24 months and have a current -- within the last two years -- diagnosis of a major mental health disorder.
The court is, to start, has set 11 as the maximum number of people to start the new program, but Salisbury said he will be flexible, offering, "How do you say no? I couldn't do it."
It is just that sensitivity the court needs.
Taxpayers and voters should not see these special courts as being easy on criminals.
Indeed, in our view these special courts actually place more pressure for those admitted to be accountable for their actions.
Yes, they provide more help by way of counseling, meetings and other methods.
But those methods are meant to keep defendants more accountable for their behavior and we don't believe for one minute that the court won't do that.
It will … and with more gusto, as has been the case with the Drug Treatment and Veterans Courts.
The court isn't doing all of this alone, having brought in counselors from outside agencies to help.
The program will take place over 12 to 18 months with participants meeting with Salisbury every other week. The program operates in three phases.
By the third phase the court meetings are typically reduced to one meeting per month with another meeting scheduled for a minimum of once a month, too.
Once the final phase is completed, a participant will move into Aftercare.
Aftercare lasts approximately six months and includes a court appearance every other month or as instructed, continued treatment if recommended, and following all treatment recommendations as well as other requirements.
Salisbury will meet with each individual for at least three to five minutes each session.
"We don't want to just kick you out, we want to help you," Salisbury told The Express for a front-page article on the first day of this new year.