Photo: Alan Willoughby (Flickr)
If the Marion County Court continues to show promise, the certification becomes permanent in September.
Mentally ill criminals will get extra help with their mental issues to help keep them out of jail.
Marion County created a mental-health court 14 months ago. It’s gotten the green light from the state to join Allen County as Indiana’s second permanent mental-health court.
Judge Barbara Crawford says it’s easier for the special court to monitor whether defendants who need help are getting it.
“If someone isn’t taking their medication, or if someone isn’t attending their treatment program and they start to develop symptoms, the court can step in and make sure they get to their appointments. We reduce the possibility that they may act out.”
Marion County’s twist on the concept has been to assign defendants a “recovery coach” who gets to know them on a personal level, and makes sure they keep treatment appointments — even attending with them in some cases.
“They practically sit in their back pocket the first two to three months. They get to know their families, what different individual needs might be,” says Crawford.
About a third of Marion County Jail inmates have mental health issues, from substance abuse to bipolar disorder. Crawford says they’re the most likely to be repeat offenders, because their mental illness makes them act inappropriately or because they commit crimes to pay for a drug habit.
The court’s certification from the Indiana Justice Center is provisional. If the court continues to show promise, the certification becomes permanent in September.
