Mental illness is, in many ways, the least understood of all medical conditions by the general public in the United States. The manifestation of this public health issue is the growing number of adults with untreated mental illness who become involved in the legal system. Lack of access to appropriate mental health services commonly results in repeated contact with the criminal justice system and high rates of incarceration for some people with untreated mental illness.
The Court to Community Program is a flexible and responsive special services court docket and system to manage municipal offenders with serious and persistent mental health issues. The program allows for access to evaluation and treatment referrals for participants. Services are provided by participating Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) Case Management teams for at least 36 adults at any given time. Program participants are supervised through frequently scheduled court reviews. The goals of the program are to:
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Protect Public Safety
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Reduce the use of jail and repeated interaction with the criminal justice system by persons with serious and persistent mental health issues
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Reduce psychiatric ER & hospital use
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Reduce substance abuse in target population
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Improve the likelihood of ongoing success and improve psychiatric well-being among target population by way of: connecting/reconnecting with treatment, providing access to housing or shelter, providing linkage with other critical supports for the mentally ill
The Court to Community Program is staffed by the Denver City Attorney's Office, the Defense Council, a County Court Judge, a Court to Community Coordinator, Mental Health Corporation of Denver, and Colorado Coalition for the Homeless.