PORT ANGELES – Supporters of starting a mental health court in Clallam County plan to present the idea to Clallam County Commissioners next month.
County Prosecuting Attorney Mark Nichols says he and a working group have spent the past months observing other mental health courts developing the idea for Clallam County. If approved, the court here would operate under the jurisdiction of Judge Dave Neupert in District Court.
Nichols say there’s a need for this type of court, that it can get people mental health help, and out of the legal system.
“I feel strongly that we need to try to do something different, because it’s not as though the traditional criminal justice system’s approach is working all that well if you look at what’s happening around the county. And so there are some folks with unique needs that cannot be adequately met through the traditional criminal courts. That’s why we have therapeutic courts. And in this case that’s why we have, I believe, a strong argument to be made to establish a mental health court. It’ll lend itself to better outcomes for those involved and for the communities at large.”
Under a mental health court, those who commit non-violent property crimes that may have been caused by underlying mental health issues, could be admitted. There, they’d have one to two years of active support, treatment, and therapy. If completed successfully, the criminal charges would be removed from their record. It’s similar to the county’s drug court.
As for funding, Nichols says no additional taxes would be needed. He says funding could come from county’s existing sales tax approved years ago to fund mental health issues.
“Funding for the program exists, in that county line. Even after all the other programs that are currently funded out of it receive their annual dispensations, there’s still a healthy reserve at the end of the year. And so, what we’re going to ask the Commissioners to do is to take a closer look at that reserve amount and answer the question of whether they believe that there’s an adequately large amount in the reserve to fund this a for a three to five years.”
Nichols says if the program doesn’t prove successful after a trial period, he’d advocate to end it. He says he plans to absorb the prosecutor’s office cost of the program in his current staff, and most of the funding would need to pay for a professional court coordinator.