The amount of individual that go through the criminal justice system that have a mental illness has become a growing issue in the criminal justice system. Many individual that enter the criminal justice system are bound to end up in prison, where they have little access to mental health help. The amount of individual that enter the criminal justice system that have a serious mental illness is estimated to be 16.9 percent. These individuals are usually repeat offenders that circulate through the system because they do not receive the treatment that they need. (Almquist & Dodd, 2009). Mental health courts are designed to work with offenders that have some sort of mental illness. These courts handle a variety of offenders and criminal offenses.
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In 2007, a report was written by the Council of State Governments Justice Center with the help of the Criminal Justice/Mental Health Consensus Project that included ten essential elements for mental health courts. The following summarizes these elements.
• Planning and Administration- A planning committee should be created from within the system to design the mental health court. This committee will also be responsible for ongoing issues and policy changes within the court. An advisory court should also be put into effect to make sure that the court system is implementing the right policies in its practices.
• Target Population- The safety of the public and the community’s accessibility for mental health options are considered in the portion. Eligibility for the mental health court should be based off these. The relationship between the current offense and mental health issues should also be taken into …show more content…
One includes the already little available mental health services. This puts a limit to the amount of referrals that a court can make. This in turn ultimately limits the amount of people that can be helped. Another criticism involves the longer sentencing that tends to come in mental health programs. Concerns arise that the time that is served does not always fit the crime. The last criticism addresses the concern about having to plead guilty before getting treatment. This bring up the issue that if the individual went traditional court if they would have been convicted or not. These guilty verdicts can have a lasting impact on individuals (McAleer,
In 2007, a report was written by the Council of State Governments Justice Center with the help of the Criminal Justice/Mental Health Consensus Project that included ten essential elements for mental health courts. The following summarizes these elements.
• Planning and Administration- A planning committee should be created from within the system to design the mental health court. This committee will also be responsible for ongoing issues and policy changes within the court. An advisory court should also be put into effect to make sure that the court system is implementing the right policies in its practices.
• Target Population- The safety of the public and the community’s accessibility for mental health options are considered in the portion. Eligibility for the mental health court should be based off these. The relationship between the current offense and mental health issues should also be taken into …show more content…
One includes the already little available mental health services. This puts a limit to the amount of referrals that a court can make. This in turn ultimately limits the amount of people that can be helped. Another criticism involves the longer sentencing that tends to come in mental health programs. Concerns arise that the time that is served does not always fit the crime. The last criticism addresses the concern about having to plead guilty before getting treatment. This bring up the issue that if the individual went traditional court if they would have been convicted or not. These guilty verdicts can have a lasting impact on individuals (McAleer,