Idaho Participates in National Mental Health Court Conference

Los Angeles was the site of a historic conference June 20 – 22, 2005

when over 400 judicial, criminal justice, and mental health

professionals, representing 100 mental health courts, gathered for the

first national conference. The conference was coordinated by the

Council of State Governments and sponsored by several federal

agencies. CSG has been significantly involved in The Consensus

Project, a major effort to develop a comprehensive national approach

to the mentally ill who enter the criminal justice system.

Mental health courts, like drug courts, divert individuals from

incarceration and into mandated and supervised treatment, behavioral

accountability, and comprehensive rehabilitation efforts. Through

increased appropriation of the recent Legislature, Idaho is beginning a

process to expand its mental health court network to a total of seven

courts over the next six months. Since 2002, Idaho has tested the

mental health court model, partly supported by the U.S. Department of

Justice, and has been recognized for its leadership in advancing this

model in a rural state.

Thanks to Department of Justice scholarships and grants, Idaho was

represented at the conference by three mental health court judges, staff

from the Supreme Court and the state mental health system, State

Representative Mack Shirley, and other local mental health court team

members. Idaho was also asked to share strategies for making the

mental health court case to funders.

The conference kicked off with an invitational day “for judges only” to

encourage candid sharing and focused exploration of the myriad legal

and operational issues facing these new problem-solving courts.

Presentations covered a wide variety of topics, with emphasis on the

sweeping recommendations of the president’s New Freedom

Commission, which has created a detailed blueprint for transforming

the mental health system in the United States. Research-based

treatment strategies, consumer and family partnerships, the mental

illness / substance abuse connection, appropriate sanctions and

incentives, and available federal resources were also addressed.

Perhaps the most inspirational presentation was a panel of three

mental health court graduates who clearly described their life-changing

experiences in mental health court and how they had rebuilt lives for

themselves and their families.

Idaho’s three operating mental health courts came away energized and

strengthened through the educational sessions and the opportunities to

interact with colleagues from 100 courts across the United States. A

planning meeting is being set for the fall to further develop the Idaho

mental health court initiative.

For further information on mental health courts and the comprehensive

recommendations for addressing the mentally ill in the criminal justice

system visit the Council of State Governments website at

www.consensusproject.org or contact Norma Jaeger, Statewide Drug

and Mental Health Court Coordinator, 208-947-7406.