NEWS RELEASE
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:
November 22, 2016
CONTACT: Dana Kazel, Communications Manager
218-725-5049 (office) • 218-591-2219 (cell)
Board approves funding for Probation Officer for Mental Health Court
The St. Louis County Board has approved funding for Arrowhead Regional Corrections (ARC) to support a full time probation officer dedicated to working with participants in the Mental Health Court program. The Board authorized spending $150,000 for a two year pilot program.
St. Louis County Mental Health Court serves offenders who have been diagnosed with serious and persistent mental illness and who have volunteered to participate in the program. It's designed to reduce recidivism and offer lower cost alternatives to incarceration and hospitalization for the offender, while promoting self-sufficiency and assisting with mental health, chemical use problems and basic living needs.
The specialty court has operated in Duluth since 2010, and during that time, an ARC probation officer has juggled working with the Mental Health Court participants along with other clients on probation. By dedicating a probation officer solely for the program, participants will be more closely monitored and assessed, leading to better success, such as fewer days in jail, new arrests, violations of probation, emergency room admissions, mental health hospitalizations and detox admissions. Other benefits are expected to include securing safety housing, increasing compliance with psychotropic medication plan, reducing the use of alcohol and mood altering substances not prescribed by a physician, and increasing compliance with mental health and/or chemical dependency treatment directives.
Currently, the Mental Health Court serves an average of 55 to 60 participants each year. A full-time probation officer dedicated to MHC should increase the number of participants served by at least 20 percent.
Mental Health Court is a partnership involving the Courts, Arrowhead Regional Corrections, the Public Defender, County Attorney, and other agencies that specialize in mental health and chemical dependency issues.
The County Board voted 5 to 2 in favor of funding the pilot program. Commissioners Rukavina and Dahlberg opposed it.
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