Portage County
Overview
In 2005, the Portage County
Mental Health and Recovery Board provided the leadership to develop a planning
process to determine what steps would lead to better outcomes for individuals
with severe and persistent mental illness who come into frequent contact with
the adult criminal justice system. Another outcome of this planning was to
improve the working relationship between the behavioral health system and the
courts, the probation department and the jail. The planning group decided to
develop a post arrest diversion program. Representatives from the planning
group continued to meet to design the structure, function and process of the
post arrest diversion program. The following information outlines the criteria,
process in the form of flow charts (see pages 7 and 8) as well as roles and
responsibilities of key players in the post arrest diversion program.
Eligibility Criteria
The following information
identifies the key criteria that will be used to rule in or rule out
participants for the post arrest diversion program.
q
Primary Axis I
diagnosis of Schizophrenia, Schizoaffective disorder, Mood Disorders with
Psychotic Features, and may have a co-occurring AOD/Substance Abuse Diagnosis
q
Type of Offense:
misdemeanor excluding minor misdemeanor, no felony, no crimes of violence
without victims written consent and no sex crimes
q
Review of record
& Prior Involvement by Prosecutor and Judge with approval
q
Participant
enters a no contest or guilty plea to the qualifying offense
q
Defendant wishes
to and agrees to participate in the diversion program
q
Portage County Resident
q
Adult 18 years of
age
Post Arrest Diversion Team:
The post arrest diversion
team consists of representatives from agencies and entities that play a role in
the program. The list of team members is not exclusionary and will include
other agencies as needed to achieve positive outcomes for the people involved
as well as the overall program outcomes.
Portage County
The role of the Board is to:
q
Oversee the
mental health and alcohol/drug system for Portage County
q
Identify what
resources are needed to provide mental health and alcohol/drug services to
individuals in diversion program.
q
Provide systems
level monitoring and facilitate problem solving or conflict resolution as
needed.
q
Coordinate
scheduled meetings to update the post arrest diversion team of upcoming
trainings and progress with overall education provided in the county.
q
Implement Crisis
Intervention Team training (CIT) in Portage County
q
Participate in
program oversight and development by coordinating meetings of an Oversight
Committee consisting of those involved in the initial planning as well as
others interested in the process.
NOTE: The Board will not be involved in the
day-to-day operation of the post arrest diversion program.
The Court: Portage County
The Judge
The role of the Judge is to:
q
Determine who is
eligible & appropriate for the program
q
Oversee the
frequency of the person’s appearance in court
q
Deliver sanctions
and rewards
q
Participate in
program oversight and development
Prosecutor
The role of the Prosecutor is
to:
q
Make
recommendations to the Judge for referral to the diversion team for evaluation
q
Make
recommendations that will be used in the final report to the Judge
q
Collaborate and
communicate with the diversion team
q
Participate in
program oversight and development
Probation (Every participant will be assigned a probation
officer)
The role of the Probation
Officer is to:
q
Monitor the
progress and actions of the people in the program
q
Assist in
determining appropriate sanctions and rewards
q
Participate in
the post arrest diversion team to make recommendations to the Judge
q
Participate in
overall planning and development of the program
Jail
The role of the jail is to:
q
Coordinate
information with mental health, other providers or treating professionals.
q
Coordinate the day
to day treatment with the case manager regarding jail stay Provide space for
team meetings
q
Provide
de-escalation and crisis training for jail staff
q
Help coordinate
Crisis Intervention training (CIT)
q
Obtain criminal
histories for the assessment team
q
Participate in
overall planning and development of the program
Defense Attorney
The role of the Defense
Attorney is to:
q
Educate and
inform people of the diversion opportunities.
q
Assist the person
in the eligibility determination and evaluation phase.
NOTE: Involvement ends if the person enters
a plea of no contest or guilty and decides to participate in the program.
Treatment Providers – including Psychiatrist and Case Manager
The treatment providers may
be employed by several different agencies including Coleman Professional
Services, Family and Community Services, Townhall II, Heartland Behavioral
Healthcare, or others as determined by the needs of the person
Psychiatrist
Coleman Professional
Services (CPS) will provide a forensic psychiatrist. The role of the
psychiatrist is to:
q
Conduct an
assessment for people referred by the Judge
q
Provide a written
report about treatment recommendations for the Judge
q
Meet with the
person as determined by the team
q
In the event
there is an existing treating psychiatrist, the forensic psychiatrist will
assume a consultative role.
q
Prescribe and
monitor medication that meets the person’s needs
q
Participate in
monthly diversion meetings
q
Oversee written
reports & progress for the court
q
Participate in
overall planning and development of the program
Case Manager
Coleman Professional
Services (CPS) will provide case management. The role of the case manager is
to:
q
Educate the
individual and family about resources and the program
q
Obtain needed
and/or necessary records and collateral information for determining eligibility
and treatment recommendations
q
Develop a
treatment plan to be used that is based on information and recommendations from
the team.
q
Keep all team
members informed of progress or barriers via scheduled meetings, written
correspondence and court hearings.
q
Engage the person
in treatment and provide the follow along and follow up during the program
q
Assist in
determining appropriate sanctions and rewards
q
Attend court
sessions
q
Flag people who
meet the eligibility criteria for the jail diversion program and notify the
Prosecutor and Defense Attorney if known
q
Provide initial
screening at the jail or other sites as needed to accomplish the assessment
q
Provide and
coordinate information between the treating professionals, court system, family
and individual
q
Participate in
monthly diversion team meetings
q
Complete a
comprehensive assessment of the needs of the person (housing, employment,
benefits/entitlements, health) and make referrals to community resources and/or
assist the individual to obtain benefits/entitlements and other supports.
Townhall II
The role of Townhall II is
to:
q Provide substance abuse assessment and
recommendations as determined by the team
q Provide a written report for the diversion team,
judge, prosecutor & defense attorney
q Join the diversion team in the provision of treatment
q Participate in overall planning and development of the
program
Family
& Community Services
The role of Family &
Community Services is to:
- Participate in overall planning and development
of the program
- Join the diversion team in the provision of
services
Advantages
The program is designed to
divert individuals with mental health issues away from jail, to prevent
homelessness, and to coordinate mental health treatment. A variety of services are available to meet
the individual’s specific needs:
receiving on-going mental health care (including individual and group
counseling); psychiatric care; intensive case management; vocational support;
substance abuse treatment; and providing a link to social service agencies
(e.g. for food, clothing, shelter, and payeeship). Upon successful completion of the program, the
plea is vacated and the misdemeanor charges are dismissed.
Incentives and Rewards
The primary incentive for
individuals to participate in the jail diversion program is the dismissal of
misdemeanor charges upon successful completion of the program.
In order to encourage positive outcomes,
treatment providers and/or the court can offer “rewards” to the participant. Rewards should be issued on an individual
basis and may include items such as movie tickets or meal vouchers.
Sanctions
Sanctions are instituted to
encourage compliance. Sanctions are on a
graduated level, dependent upon the severity of the individual’s behavior and
frequency of misconduct. Examples of
sanctions include, but are not limited to: court reprimands; additional therapy
sessions or group meetings; mandatory courtroom observation; increased contact
with probation; additional court appearances; house arrest; referrals to
residential treatment facilities, community work service, and/or jail.
Sanctions are given for a
variety of behaviors, including drug/alcohol use, foul or inappropriate
language, failure to keep scheduled appointments, non-compliance with case
plan, and re-offending.
Phases
The program is designed to
be 12-18 months in length, with an option to increase the individual’s
participation to 2 years if appropriate.
Phase I is the first 12 months, and Phase II will run from 13-24
months. Movement from Phase I to Phase
II will be determined by the court with input from the treatment team.
Phase I
Being the most intense level
of contact, the case manager and probation will meet with the participant as
determined by the team and plan of care. Sessions and contacts may increase or
decrease depending upon the participant’s compliance with the case plan.
Phase II
The participant may continue with a plan of care with ongoing case
management and probation determining the frequency of contact and
treatment. If community-based services
are in place, the individual will continue quarterly contact with the court, as
in Phase I. Consideration for “early graduation” may be possible if the client’s
progress, appropriateness of community-based services, stable housing, and
regular income is apparent. At that
point, a transitional plan should be in place and ready for implementation.
Indicators
for Evaluation
- Numbers referred to program
- Numbers in the program
- Type of offenses
- Who refers to the program
- Average Length of program
- Numbers of participants who drop out and why
- Recidivism rates
Flow Charts
outlining the process – Pages 7 and 8
Post Arrest
Judge refers to Diversion team for evaluation
1-30 day period of time
