St. Clair County Mental Health Court receives $60K less in funding than requested – The Times Herald

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St. Clair County Probate Judge John Tomlinson presides over Mental Health Court Tuesday, Nov. 12, 2019, in his courtroom in the St. Clair County Courthouse in Port Huron. The Michigan State Court Administrative Officeawarded $337,661 to St. Clair County District Court for the operation of the mental health courtfor fiscal year 2021.(Photo: Brian Wells/Times Herald)

Despite receiving less funding than originally requested, the St. Clair County Mental Health Court will add a dedicated defense attorneyinfiscal year 2021.

The Michigan State Court Administrative Officeawarded $337,661 to St. Clair County District Court for the operation of the mental health courtfor fiscal year 2021, which runs from October 1, 2020, to September 30, St. Clair County Probate and Mental Health Court Judge John Tomlinson said. The grant requires no local match.

The mental health court originally requested$404,989 in funding from the state for fiscal year 2021, Mental Health Court Coordinator Rebecca Shafran said.

Lastfiscal year, the court received $315,861in state dollarsto continue the program.

The mental health court is an alternative to incarceration that links individuals with serious mental illnesses and/or developmental disorders to treatment and community resources toimprove quality of life andreduce recidivism.

Despite not receiving as much as was requested, Tomlinson said the mental health court will not need to make cuts or decrease the maximum number of participants allowed in the program.

Tomlinson described the mental health court as a "win-win," stating he is pleased with the court's progress since its creation in 2008.

"Mental health court is important because it gives defendants meaningful consequences and a meaningful opportunity for change by addressing their underlying mental health issues," he said."From the communitys standpoint, Mental Health Courts approach leads to a better quality of life and reduced recidivism for its participants, which makes for a better community."

In order to achieve State Court Administrative Office certification and to continue to receive funding, the court must adda dedicated mental health court defense attorney, Shafran has said.

Tomlinson said the addition of a dedicated defense attorney will come at no cost to the mental health court because the attorney will be provided by and paid forby the St. Clair County Public Defender's Office's budget.

Currently, all defendants are represented by a defense attorney at plea, sentence and violation hearings.

Tomlinson said an attorney is not usually present at review hearings, as theyare not adversarial in nature.

Participants in the mental health court are referred from St. Clair County District Court, so participants already have their own defense attorneys upon entry into the mental health court, many of which are from the public defender's office, Tomlinson said.

The dedicated defense attorney will help determine who is accepted into mental health court, fill in fora participant's regular attorney during violation hearings if their attorney is unavailable, and support the functions of the mental health court, Tomlinson said.

The mental health court is a community partnership between St. Clair County Community Mental Health, St. Clair County courts, and severalcounty substance use disorder treatment and recovery resources.

Participation in the mental health court increased before stayingrelatively consistent in recent years. In fiscal year 2017, 34 people successfully completed the program, compared to 42 in 2019 and 43 in 2020.

Tomlinson said the mental health court comfortably serves between 60 and 70 people at a time.While participants can stay in the probationary program for up to two years, mostgraduate after12 to 14 months, he said.

Participation in the program is voluntary.

Tomlinson said while the COVID-19 pandemic probably had little effect on the number of participants in the program, the pandemic did affect how the court conducted hearings. In the beginning of the pandemic, most hearings were conducted via Zoom, and probation officers and community mental health staff checked in with participants weekly.

Also early in the pandemic, participants could not take the community mental health classes theywere normally court-ordered to complete, and so the court had to make accommodations, he said.

Now, most hearings are conducted in-person via a staggeredschedule, Tomlinson said. WhileZoom hearings are availablefor participants who request it, most participants prefer in-person hearings, hesaid.

Most participants have greatersuccess with the program when hearings are in-person, Tomlinson said.

Contact Laura Fitzgeraldat (810) 941-7072orlfitzgeral@gannett.com.

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St. Clair County Mental Health Court receives $60K less in funding than requested - The Times Herald