Bucks County’s plans to create a mental health court are moving forward.
Bucks County Commissioners Chairperson Diane Ellis-Marseglia said the set up for the proposed mental health court is being worked on by several branches of government, including the county, courts, and district attorney’s office.
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On Wednesday, Bucks County District Attorney Matt Weintraub’s office released a report titled “Improving Criminal Justice Outcomes through Mental Health Court Development” that was developed and prepared by researchers with the Quattrone Center for the Fair Administration of Justice at the University of Pennsylvania Carey School of Law in Philadelphia.
The report features the following executive summary:
In sum, through the creation of a mental health court, Bucks County can improve both clinical and criminal justice outcomes for people living with mental illness. A mental health court would operate as a form of judicially supervised probation, diverting defendants from incarceration to the community, where they can access both treatment and social supports. As the report describes, mental health courts contribute to reductions in time offenders with mental illness spend in jail, improve public safety by reducing rates of re-offending, and lead to improvements in quality of life among participants. Furthermore, a mental health court would draw from existing resources in Bucks County to provide it with a new set of tools to tackle the challenges posed by people with mental illness who come into contact with the criminal justice system.
Bucks County is the only Pennsylvania county in the Philadelphia region to not have a mental health court. The Unified Judicial System of Pennsylvania said there are 20 counties in the state that have their own mental health courts.
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With two high-profile mental health cases in recent months, the county has increased efforts to create a mental health court.
The report calls for the proposed mental health court to “assist people with serious psychiatric disorders” and “people with co-occurring mental health and substance abuse disorders.” It suggested multiple agencies function as referral sources for the court and that prosecutors and public defenders screen referrals.
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The mental health court, according to the report, would best be served by using a judge, public defender, jail representative, prosecutor, and human services representative. It should offer treatment services, counseling, and community support for those in the program.
The Bucks County Adult Probation and Parole Department would oversee participants in the program as the mental health court would ““operate as a form of judicially supervised probation, diverting defendants from incarceration to the community in ways that increase the likelihood that they can gain the support they need,” according to the report.
“Providing seriously mentally ill individuals with appropriate medical treatment and support–instead of punishment and incarceration – is the right thing to do,” said Dominic A. Sisti, an assistant professor of medical ethics and health policy at Penn Medicine who supervised creation of the report.. “A new mental health court will provide a pathway for treatment and recovery, and will aim to break the cycle of recidivism experienced by many mentally ill people in the system. Mental health diversion programs prioritize rehabilitation over retribution, and this shift will benefit the entire community.”
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“By establishing a mental health court, Bucks County is tackling an urgent problem: the over-incarceration and over-punishment of people with mental illness,” said Benjamin Barsky, a research associate and current doctoral student who contributed to the report. “This project constitutes an important step toward the implementation of evidence-based interventions aimed at rehabilitation, integration, and community support for this vulnerable population.”
The new court would be able to use existing resources in place and the exact details are still in the works, according to Ellis-Marseglia, who has a master’s degree in social worker.
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The county already operates a drug court, veterans treatment program, and district court-level diversion program.
“We’ve too often seen people with mental health issues become hopelessly enmeshed in the ‘spin cycle’ of the criminal justice system due to its inability to address these defendants’ specific issues. I enlisted the Quattrone Center at Penn Law School to give us a critical analysis on starting a mental health court here in Bucks County. They graciously agreed and produced this report for us, and at no cost to the taxpayers,” District Attorney Matt Weintraub said.
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“I thought it was a terrific summary of the mental health court,” Ellis-Marseglia said.
“The Court looks forward to working collaboratively with the Commissioners to develop the resources needed to implement a successful Mental Health Court,” Bucks County Court Administrator Stephen Heckman said.
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John F. Hollway, executive director of the Quattrone Center and Associate Dean at Penn Law School, said he appreciated the “forward-looking focus of the Bucks County DA’s Office and others in Bucks County as they work to better address this historically underserved population.”
Speaking about mental health services in the county, Ellis-Marseglia acknowledged that improvements need to be made to the system.
“Bucks County isn’t having a mental health crisis, this is nationwide problem,” she said.
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The commissioner noted that it has been difficult to get those dealing with mental health crises to the proper care in some cases due to COVID-19 restrictions at facilities.
The county is looking at options to have beds for Bucks Countians in need mental health treatment, so that people wouldn’t have to be turned away.
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“We’re working to see if there is a way to secure beds for use for Bucks County,” she said.
Ellis-Marseglia explained that there needs to be reform to the mental health system at the state and federal level.
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