3 days ago
Unified Court Mental Illness Task Force issues first report
ALBANY, NY (WUTR/WFXV/WPNY) — New York State's Unified Court System issued its first report on Tuesday, with recommended first steps to help the court system address mental illness.
The task force — established in 2024 — was to address how courts across the state address mental illness in incarcerated individuals.
'The burgeoning mental health crisis in New York and nationwide makes it imperative that New York's courts, which long have been the national leader in offering treatment options to persons in need, now work harder than ever to do our part in addressing that crisis,' Chief Judge Rowan Wilson said in a statement. 'I am determined to move forward on the Task Force's initial recommendations and eagerly await forthcoming ideas from that diverse group of experts as we seek to develop more holistic, effective justice system responses for children, youth, and adults with behavioral health and co-occurring disorders.'
The task force brought forth five recommendations to divert inmates from the justice system into the state's mental health services. Those five recommendations are:
Establishment of a pilot Assisted Out-Patient Treatment Model. This recommendation would evaluate patients who participate in this model are more successful in avoiding further involvement in the criminal justice system.
Establishment of Mental Health Courts in Family Court. This recommendation would focus on addressing youth offenders that present with mental health issues. It would also focus on families with issues in Custody and Visitation parts of the court system.
Establishment of regional mental health courts in rural counties. This would allow courts to pool resources to improve access to diversion opportunities.
Development of an internal dashboard to improve tracking of competency cases.
Updating of the competency evaluation order form.
'The Task Force has made significant strides in its inaugural year as reflected by the thoughtful proposals outlined in this report—with many more ideas for reform forthcoming—as we seek to best serve the justice needs of New Yorkers with mental illness,' Chief Administrative Judge Joseph Zayas said in a statement.
You can check out the full report in the viewer below:
report-judicial-taskforce-mental-illnessDownload
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